Straw Hat Naruto
by SmoK1ngP4pers
Summary: 3 long peaceful years has passed since the Fourth Great Shinobi war and since Sasuke returned back to the village. After a heartbreaking conversation with Sakura, Naruto acted rashly on a mission costing him being sent to another universe. Waking up on the Straw Hat ship, what adventures awaits Naruto and can someone in this universe fix his broken heart? NarutoxNami ZoroxRobin
1. The Unexpected Arrival

**Hello to all the readers, smoK1ngP4apers here. **

Just wanted to say that I'm determined to finish this story no matter what because if there's one thing I hate it's a good story with no ending. However I will be returning to university soon so I wont have as much free time to write but I will continue to update.

This story is rated M for a reason so there will be some lemon on later chapters, but I will put a warning at the beginning of all chapters that have lemon.

Finally, one can never get tired of reviews, good, bad, they're all welcome as long as the criticisms are constructive and helps me develop my writing for the story.

Cheers and I hope you enjoy.

" " - Talking

' ' - _Thinking_.

"**blah**" Kurama speaking

I do not own Naruto or One Piece.

Three years had passed after the end of the Fourth Great Shinobi War. Peace treaties were made between each nation of the Shinobi Alliance. Naruto and Sasuke, with their combined power, fought bravely against Kaguya and Zetsu, the orchestrators of the Moon Eye Plan. After a hard fought battle, the two leaf ninjas were able to seal Kaguya and Zetsu with a powerful sealing jutsu, which the Sage of Six Path taught them.

The legendary Sannin, Tsunade's love for the village grew after the war and she decided to maintain her position as Hokage. As much as she hated them with all her soul, no amount of paperwork would force her to resign now. Immediately after the war, Sasuke decided to finally return to his homeland to receive the punishment he deserved for all the crimes he had committed against Konoha and the entire Shinobi world. However, to everyone surprise, especially Sasuke's, no severe punishment was in store for the Uchiha because The Council believed that it would be a shame and a waste to execute the last holder of the feared Sharingan.

Tsunade was furious when she heard the council's decision but deep down she knew they had a valid point. Thanks to those eyes, Sasuke could hold his own against Naruto, who was arguably the strongest shinobi in the village and next in line for the title Hokage. Instead of a indefinite prison sentence, the last Uchiha was placed under probation for 5 years with an entire ANBU squad monitoring his every move 24/7. Sasuke was also assigned to rebuild and lead a new Konoha Police Force as an opportunity to demonstrate his loyalty to the village and to regain everyone's trust.

It was a peaceful spring evening in Konohakagure. The sun had dipped under the horizon creating a beautiful dark blue sky. The lights of the shops and the voices of the villagers gave the streets a great sense of peace and unity. One could never have imagined that this village had experienced the most devastating war ever seen in history just three years ago. All may seem well on the outside, but deep down in the mind of Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, everything was anything but peaceful.

Wearing nothing but a white towel he used to dry himself off after his shower, Naruto stared into his bathroom mirror deep in thought. '_I'm doing it today! Yup, definitely today! Oh God how hard is it to walk up to her and ask her how she feels?_'

Since Sasukes return, Naruto and Sakura had been spending more time together alone and with Sasuke in an attempt to return his life back to normal. However during this time Naruto couldn't shake the feeling that their interactions had changed, the atmosphere in their talks had become a little... flirtatious. The occasional 'innocent' touch on his thigh, laugh at his horrible jokes, the eye contact. He thought that these were all signs of her finally showing interest in him.

However, 3 years had passed and still, he had nothing to fully certify that the 20 year old medic wanted to take their relationship a step further. On the other hand, Naruto also couldn't help but notice that Sasuke was receiving identical treatment from Sakura, but he concluded it to Sakura being friendly her long awaited team mate. Since his return, Sakura hadn't displayed her usual fan girl behaviour towards the Uchiha so Naruto didn't think much of her unusual behaviour with both him and Sasuke.

He grabbed the towel next to the sink to dry his face, bare chest and inhumanly defined abs that he had acquired over years of insane and intense training. He hadn't noticed it, but Naruto had also grew a few inches taller and his hair was little longer in the last three years. If Jiraiya could see him now, he would probably say that the little fool was a splitting image of his former student and Naruto's father, The Yondaime Hokage.

The tall hunk also lost his baby fat which enhanced his facial features especially his incredibly neat jaw line which got the ladies' attentions everywhere he went. Even some members of the Rookie 9 would say he was one of the most handsome men in the village. But, due to his life-long crush on the pink haired kunoichi and pure lack of knowledge in the field of romance, the blond had failed to realise his effect on women.

Dried and nervous, Naruto shifted to his living room. _'7:15pm, it's still early, it's now or never, come on I can do this_.'

He immediately got dressed to face his crush, until a low pitched voice caused the blonde to suddenly stop. "**Oi, Naruto**..."

"Yeah what is it Kurama?" He answered the fox.

"**If you're really going to face her, you should at least keep your emotions in check before you do something stupid**."

Naruto squinted while tilting his head pretending to be shocked. "And why should I take advice from a fox about HUMAN romance!?" he joked.

"**Shut up you damn brat! I may be a demon fox but I have lived for over thousands of years! I've learned a thing or two**."

The blonde nodded in acceptance. "I know Kurama, I just can't help being nervous."

"**Don't worry kit, I can tell she has always shown interest in you, she probably hasn't found the courage to confront them to you yet**."

The 20 year old blonde stopped to consider what his friend just said, after some contemplating Naruto formed massive ear to ear grin. "You're probably right, let's go find her. Thanks partner!" And with that, Naruto got dressed in a flash then jumped out his window in search for his cherry blossom.

_Konoha General Hospital_

Naruto searched everywhere. At each location, someone would give their two cents on the possible places where she could be. First at her parents' house where they told him that she may be at the hospital. Which was strange because he knew it was her day off. But knowing what a workaholic Sakura is, it was a definite a possibility. So he rushed towards to the hospital in high spirit.

Arriving at the hospital Naruto quickly spotted Shizune in the main lobby carrying stacks of papers which looked like the hospital's monthly reports.

"Hey! Shizune-neechan!" an overly excited Naruto yelled while waving at his surrogate sister.

"Sshhh Naruto-kun, don't forget this is a hospital. So try to be quiet for the patients."

Naruto smiled apologetically, "Oh sorry about that but I'm kind of in a rush, I was wondering have you seen Sakura lately?"

Shizune hung her head low and shook her head, "Typical Naruto, always looking for Sakura."

He smirked before responding. "So have you?"

"Umm, I believe she should have just left for the Hokage tower by now. She had to had a report to make with Lady Tsunade."

With this piece of new information, Naruto ran straight for the exit while yelling his goodbye.

Shizune sighed disappointingly. "You're welcome" she whispered.

_Hokage Office_

Arriving at the Hokages office, Naruto knocked on the door and waited patiently for the leader of the Leaf to grant him permission to enter her office.

"Come in"

Tsunade was bewildered when she saw that it was none other than Naruto who actually knocked on the door, not smashed it down or climbed through the window.

"What a surprising entrance brat! Now what can I do for you?"

Tsunade made a note to herself on how this blonde young man standing in front of her, used to be the loud mouthed knucklehead prankster that everyone despised. But looking at him now almost brought a tear in her eye just by being able to have had the privilege to witness him grow into such a fine mature young man.

"Oh come on Baa-chan, just cause I knocked on the door doesn't mean I've changed or anything."

_'Actually I take that back'_

Sighing in defeat, the Hokage replied "So what do you want?"

"Well, I was looking for Sakura-chan and Shizune-neechan told me in the hospital that she would be here."

Tsunade lifed a curious eye brow. "Sakura? She was, but she left 20 minutes ago and said something about visiting Ino's flower shop so you can probably find her there."

Naruto rubbed the bridge of his nose in frustration for feeling like a human pinball. '_Damn it, why can't she just be sitting at home having dinner with her parents like a normal girl. That would make this so much easier for me.'_

Naruto turned around to make his leave "Okay Baa-chan, I'll see ya later!" Meanwhile Tsunade gave her visitor a lazy goodbye wave as she reached for a sake bottle in her desk draw.

Closing her office door shut, Naruto bumped into two familiar figures walking towards him. "Kakashi-sensei, Shikamaru, where have you guys been lately? I haven't seen you two in weeks."

Shikamaru waved lazily. "Oh hey Naruto, we just got back from a recon mission. It was a drag but it was an emergency"

Kakashi decided to speak up. "Off to see Sakura?" Making sure the hint of tease was in his voice.

Naruto's face instantly grew a few shades redder and had to look away from sheer embarrassment. "Yeah, uhh, she's at Ino flower shop, how did you know?"

Kakashi smirked through his mask. "Intuition"

The Copy Cat Ninja hadbeen observing his two students in the last few years and been waiting patiently for the day that they would announce their newly form relationship. But even he never thought it would take this long.

Naruto frowned in confusion but shrugged the thought. "Okkaayyyy... well I gotta go, I'll catch up with you guys another time." the blonde placed a hand on their shoulders before departing out the tower.

Shikamaru smirked. "Always chasing after Sakura"

"That's Naruto being Naruto for you." The two jounins then proceeded to the Hokage's offices to make their report.

The blond soon found himself running on the streets of his home village, beads of anxious sweat trickled down his forehead. _'Only 5 minutes away now. Kami-sama, I'm nervous. What is she gonna say?'_

_Yamanaka Flower Shop_

Ino was busy rearranging the formation of her flower shop while conversing with her pink haired best friend about the latest news and gossip roaming around the village. Until suddenly the door smashes open startling the two kunoichis, the ladies where greeted by a panting Naruto hands on his knees desperately regaining air in his lungs. He looked up at Sakura with a face he only displays when dead serious. In the midst of Naruto regaining his breath, Ino nudged Sakura with her shoulder. "Hey Forehead, what's up with your team mate?"

Sakura contemplated about yelling at him for scaring Ino and herself but the seriousness in Naruto's eyes stopped any words of protest, she was genuinely worried that something devastating had happened.

The medic places a hand on Ino's shoulder. "Naruto and I need to speak alone. I'll be back in a minute okay."

"O-okay." A stunned Ino was left wondering what on earth could have happened to make these two act so weird.

Sakura walked up to her team mate who could just about stand. Grabbing his hand, she quickly dragged him out of the shop and into a quite alley way opposite the flower shop. Naruto felt a little disappointed that Sakura let go of his hand, but if this confession goes the way he wants it to go, he figured he could be expecting much more from her hands...

The thought made him blush and distracted him from what he planned to say. Sakura's patience wearied thin from his sudden silence. "What's going on Naruto? I can tell something up so why haven't you told me already?"

Naruto flinched. "Ahh Sakura-Chan, c-calm down I just wanted to say something and ask you a question."

Sakura's eye brow raised. "So you got me all worried for that? Geez." Much to his relief her voice was softer and playful.

Naruto chuckled nervously. "Aha Gomen, but what I want to say is pretty important and its quite difficult for me to say so please be patient with me."

"Sure Naruto, we've been team mates for years you can tell me anything." Her curiosity peaked. She had never seen Naruto so serious before.

"Sakura-Chan. I love you. I've loved you since the very first moment I laid my eyes on you."

Her eyes immediately widened, but something in her told her to shut up and listen to him. Naruto took her silence to continue..

"You know when we were kids I'd always ask you out on dates but you would always reject me. I always thought that it was because you thought my feelings for you couldn't possibly be real, and you may have been right I mean, we were just twelve and to be honest at that age I've never truly felt love before so how could I have knew what I felt for you was genuine?. But here I am now, standing before you 20 years old and knowing full well what it means to love and be loved back in return. My feelings for you have never changed and never will. So my question is, would you go out with me, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura was too lost for words. At first she was confused about the sudden confession but all her worries were soon irrelevant after hearing all his deepest feelings towards her. She found his words so sweet that she almost shed a tear of joy, but that joy was short lived because now she needed to answer him but no words came to mind.

The pressure was building and with every passing second the atmosphere around the two became unbearable, and with Naruto staring deeply in her eyes, she knew she had to give her answer and fast.

"Naruto, you know I love you too right?"

His eyes widened.

"As a friend, I'm really glad you told me how you felt, everything you said was so nice and sweet but..."

"You still love Sasuke." He cut her off.

"Y-yeah.

He could have sworn he felt is actual heart smash into pieces. The pain in his chest grew and grew until it was something that he had never felt before. True despair.

Moments of agonizing silence passed.

Naruto shoved his hands in his pockets, hung his head low and began to walk away. He was stopped by a small tug on the back of his jacket, but he was too devastated to even turn around and face her.

"Naruto, wait. I just, I don't want this to get in between us and our friendship."

A single tear dropped down the face of the smirking man. "Too late for that Sakura."

Without another word, Naruto shrugged Sakura's grip off his jacket and walked away. She dropped to her knees, cupped her eyes as she sobbed. She screamed for his return but he wouldn't listen.

Sakura cried into her hands. "I'm sorry Naruto. I'm sorry I could never return your love for me. I'm so-"

"**Sorry, Kit.**" Kurama told the boy.

He was so sure that Sakura was finally ready to accept him as a lover but now he realised that was all wishful thinking. He couldn't help but feel guilty and responsible because he was the one to push Naruto over the edge and give him the courage to confess, but all that got him were shattered dreams and a broken heart.

The blond shinobi nodded with an emotionless expression while he walked towards the Hokage tower once again.

"**Don't be so down. There are plenty more vixens in the forest.**"

Naruto smirked at the fact that the feared nine tailed fox demon was trying to cheer him up from a rejection. In truth, Naruto was beyond depressed. The love of his life, the women he would do anything for had just chosen his best friend, a guy who has never shown any signs of romantic feelings towards her, a guy who was branded a traitor to the village no longer than 3 years ago, the guy who once tried to kill her! Behind the gloomy surface, hidden an unmeaurable amount of mass anger and jealousy.

"**Want me to kill her?**"

Naruto chuckled. "No Kurama, you're not going to kill Sakura. Although I feel sick to my stomach and if I saw Sasuke right now I'd probably kill him, we are not going to do anything."

"**So you're just going to give up?**"

Naruto shook his head to reject the question. "I did not give up. She made her choice and I'm going to respect that. There's a difference between giving up and moving on."

Kurama's eyes shot open from his partner's answer. "**When did you get so mature?**"

A small smile leaked from the corner of Naruto's mouth.

"**What are you gonna do now?**"

"We are going on a mission, now."

_Hokage Tower_

For the past 15 minutes, Tsunade listened carefully at Kakashi's and Shikamarus report of their latest mission, a recon mission about the strange activities around the borders of the leaf and the waterfall.

"...it seems like it was just another training exercise as we suspected Hokage-sama."

Tsunade rolled her eyes. "I see…Those damn Waterfall ninjas and their training sessions."

"Hai"

The Hokage spoke again. "Alright well If that's all, then you two are dismissed."

To much of her surprise both jounin's remained where they stood. "So is there anything you two would like to add?"

The only males in the room looked at each other deep in thought then nodded. "Well on our way back from the mission, we felt something... ominous."

"Ominous? What do you mean?"

"Shikamaru and I felt some strange Chakra signature coming from within the southern forest. We both agreed it was something we have never felt before, so we decided to investigate before returning to the village."

Tsunade swallowed her saliva to remedy her suddenly dry throat. "So what did you find?"

Kakashi stared at the floor. "Nothing." His voice was filled with disappointment and shame.

"How is that even possible, Kakashi? How could you fail to track your target?" The slug princess asked.

"I don't know Hokage-sama, but I request you send couple of sensory type shinobi to investigate. It could possibly be a threat to the village."

"Indeed it could." Tsunade careful thought about the situation and her options.

_'Sensory shinobi are usually located within the village to sense enemy threat from the outside, their skills are an essential key to the Leafs protection if any of the other nations decide to break the treaty and attack us. I have a bad feeling about this so I can't send anyone below a jounin level. What to do?'_

Tsunade was about to sigh and explain that there are no teams that she can deploy at the moment, thus ordering Kakashi and Shikamaru to return to the forest and investigate again in the hope that they'll be luckier a second time. but before she could even sigh, Naruto slammed his way into her office, he stood next to Kakashi without so much as an eye contact.

"Naruto what are you doing here you brat? I thought you went to see Sakura? And what happened to knocking? Did you just suddenly forget?"

The blond confused those in the room when he failed to reply with his usual flare, instead he just stood there with a face devoid of emotion. It didn't take long for everyone to realise that something wasn't right and it most likely involved his recent visit with Sakura.

"Baa-chan, I need a mission away from the village, right now. I don't care what the job is or the rank." His tone certified their thoughts, something's wrong and he's not to be messed with right now.

"Oi Naruto, what happened?" Shikamaru whispers, hoping the Hokage wouldn't notice his sudden act of rudeness.

Maintaining his attention on the Hokage, Naruto failed to even hear Shikamaru.

"What's the matter kid? Are you okay?" Tsunade questioned with motherly affection.

"I'm fine, what about that mission?" the blonde responded instantly.

"If something's bothering you, you know can always talk to me, Kakashi or even Shikamaru" She reassured.

"I told you I'm fine. I just need a mission that will get me out the village right now."

Sensing the demand in his voice, Tsunade knew he wasn't in the mood. She figured a mission would actually be a good way to clear his head.

The Sannin sighed and lowered her head in defeat, her patience with the blond were running thin. _'What the hell did you do, Sakura- Wait a second, this could be the answer to my problems!'_

A small curl formed on the edge of her mouth But first, she had to deal with the Nara heir who had been patiently listening to everything, probably thinking this whole situation was 'troublesome'.

Switching her attention to Shikamaru. "You're dismissed, get some rest, you deserve it."

"Hai, Hokage-sama." Shikamaru bowed then turned to make his leave, but not before glancing at Naruto's direction hoping that he would receive some form of attention, but he failed to do so.

The door clicked sounding Shikamaru's departure, Tsunade continued.

"Fine you little brat, be like that. I don't even care anyway." She lied. "But I do have the perfect mission that requires you to leave the village right now."

Naruto couldn't believe his luck. "That's great Baa-chan! What's the mission?" He questioned with excitement and relief.

"Not so fast kid, I still haven't told you my requirements yet." Naruto shot her a questioning look "What do you mean requirements?"

"This mission is very important for the safety of the village. So I can't have an emotional wreck like you to do this alone."

Naruto flinched hearing the words 'emotional wreck' but Tsunade continued her bashing. "Just because you graduated jounin last year does not mean you're invincible!"

"But, I-

Smacking her wooden desk to cut his sentence off. "No buts Naruto, if you want this mission you're going to have to do it with a team that I assign."

Lowering his head and his shoulders dropped inward in disappointment. _'I just wanted to be alone and get away from the women who smashed my heart into a million pieces. Is that too much to ask?' the blonde thought. 'But I guess since it's outside the village I won't have to see her for a while. I'll just deal with it_.'

Realising arguing with his stubborn Hokage was futile, Naruto reluctantly accepted the mission. "Alright fine, I'll accept your requirements, but I want to know who's in this team you're sending me with

Tsunade was caught off guard, she expected more of a resistance. "Good, and as for your team mates, one of them is standing right next to you." The Sannin flicked her head to Kakashi.

Turning his head to the masked man, Naruto finally acknowledging his presence in the room. "Oh hey Kakashi-sensei, guess we're going on a mission together." Feeling relieved, Naruto smiled brightly. He had always seen Kakashi as a big brother figure who'd always given great advice in the past.

"Kakashi has the details of the mission and he will inform you and the third member of your team on the way. You can leave as soon as you have your team and ready." The grey haired jounin's visible eye widened, realising the peculiar look the Hokage was making he quickly picked up on the Sannins plan and smiled.

_'So she wants me to bring Sakura along for this mission, huh. She probably wants to find out what's wrong with them and hoping that this mission will force them to work together and fix their relationship. It's risky but it could work'_ Kakashi nodded in acceptance of his new side mission.

At this point Naruto was already half way out the door. "Come on Kakashi-sensei, let's go already."

Kakashi sighed knowing he had a stressful mission ahead of him. "Hai hai"

_'Good luck Kakashi, you're going to need it._'

A strange awkward silence developed in the hallways of the Hokage tower. Confused about the sudden shift in mood, Naruto broke that silence. "Hey Kakashi-sensei, I just realised that Baa-chan didn't tell us who the third member is. How come you know where we're going?"

"Oh don't worry about that. Let's just say the Hokage knows what she's doing." He reassured. _'I think.'_

As Kakashi and Naruto walked down the streets of Konoha, the blonde couldn't help but feel a sense of de ja vu as he walks down the strangely familiar road. But before he noticed which road he was on, they were already outside Yamanaka flower shop.

"K-k-kakashi-s-sensei, the third member of our team, isn't Sakura is it?" Naruto stuttered anxiously.

_'Just Sakura? This can't be good_.'

"Yes Naruto, Sakura is the third member, is there something wrong with that?"

Naruto crossed his arms, and turned around to face his back against the door. "No, not at all" the blond lied unconvincingly, hoping his mortifying rejection would remain between him and Sakura.

'_Ahh come on! The last person I wanted to see right now and I get to be stuck on a mission with her! I might as well have locked myself in my room for several days. We left things pretty badly I wonder if she's even well enough to go on a mission'_

Kakashi sighed deeply. He wanted to ask what the problem was but since Naruto didn't ask him for advice then he obviously wasn't ready to talk about it. "Alright, you stay put while I'll check if Sakura is still here."

Naruto didn't respond, he was too nervous to respond. Knowing he left her crying like a new born infant without a goodbye, he was unsure whether to feel guilty or be in a fighting stance.

Stepping into the shop, the aroma of dozens and dozens of different flowers flooded the nose of the Sharingan holder. Next to the counter, he saw Sakura whispering to Ino with a dazed look on her face. Ino couldn't believe what she was hearing, but her response was cut short by the arrival of Kakashi.

"K-kakashi- sensei! You know it's rude to eavesdrop you know"

"Hai, I'm sorry I didn't meanto interrupt"

Sakuras swiftly twisted around in one smooth motion. "Kakashi-sensei! What? What are you doing here of all places?"

The jounin analysed his student before retorting. _'Her body language is off, her hair is a mess and her eyes are sore like she just spent the last half an hour... crying. Something terrible must have happened here.'_

"We've received orders from Lady Tsunade, we need to leave as soon as possible "

"What? A mission this sudden and... We? Is there anyone else coming?"

Hesitating before answering, Kakashi replied carefully. "Naruto."

His name ran a shiver down her spine. anxiety flooded her system knowing Naruto couldn't have gotten over the rejection so quickly. In a matter of seconds, Sakura felt a pair of hands on her shoulders that forced her body to rotate a complete 180 degrees.

Ino stared into Sakura's jade green eyes. "You can do this forehead. Stay strong."

Sakura couldn't think of anything else to do but throw her arms around her best friend for a heart-warming embrace. "Thanks Ino pig." Sakura whispered to the blonde.

Sakura knew she wasn't ready to meet with Naruto but she desperately wanted to apologize to him. However, since this was an emergency mission she had no choice but to face her fears head on and confront him. Astonishingly, her strong willed self seemed to have returned.

Naruto waited for the arrival of his two teammates, the feelings from the last encounter with Sakura had put him in an edgy mood. Sadness and jealousy were the only emotions in his veins. His heart rate gradually increased for every minute he waited for the inevitable awkward silence when Sakura steps through them doors. Speaking of doors, the one behind him just closed.

"Yo Naruto, Sakura is here so let's get going" Kakashi said while observing the blondes reaction.

Naruto paused for a second, mentally preparing himself to see her. He turned around but to face Kakashi and only Kakashi, ignoring Sakura as if she was invisible, something that did not go unnoticed by the son of the White Fang.

"Sorry we made you wait. Sakura had to borrow some equipment from Ino." Kakashi explained

"It's fine. Let's just go already!" Naruto complained, annoyed with himself that he imagined Sakura's naked body as she changed.

The pinkette stood still behind her squad leader uncertain whether it was appropriate to say hello to her teammate. She knew she had to say something to expel the awkwardness but knowing Naruto was beyond pissed made her very picky about her set of words

Kakashi could feel the tension in the atmosphere as two of his teammates stood there in deadly silence. Deciding he had enough of their childish behaviour, he took immediate action. Holding his breath and reconsidering whether this was a good idea. _'screw it.'_

"Are you guys alright?" He asked knowing full well of the answer but decides to act dumb for his students.

"Fine"

"Yeah, fine Kakashi-sensei." Sakura replied with nervousness lingering in her voice.

Kakashi sigh in defeat knowing he wouldn't get anything else from these stubborn individuals. But knowing the importance of the mission they are on, he didn't have the time to question them about it. Instead he thought it would be best to stand back and observe their actions a little further. "Okaaayy, now that everybody's here, follow me while I tell you the details of our mission."

_Southern Forest of Konoha._

There was an eerie aura about this forest that no one could put a finger too, maybe it was the unusual silence that most forest shouldn't have. Maybe it's the feeling of being constantly in a lifeless area.

"Man this place gives me the creeps!" Naruto shivered.

Kakashi felt relieved that someone other than him spoke. For the whole journey, if they weren't talking about the mission, there wasn't any talking at all. "Yeah this place can do that to you. Okay Naruto you know what to do." Kakashi ordered with a nod.

The blonde muttered something to himself in the lines of how stupid this mission was, how this plan was never going to work, thought there would be more action. Kakashi shook his head in annoyance while Naruto sat down and placing his hands on his knees to absorb nature energy.

FLASHBACK

leaping from rooftop to rooftop, Kakashi briefed his team mates about the mission.

"Listen up you two. This ominous chakra Shikamaru and I felt, it's nothing like we have ever encountered before. I'd go as far to say that it wasn't chakra at all."

Naruto's and Sakura's eyes shot open. "What do you mean it's not chakra?! Is that even possible?" The blonde panicked.

"I don't know. But the most accurate word I can describe the feelings is... organic."

"Huhh? Organic? Like its natural or something?" Sakurara responded sceptically.

"Yes precisely. That's why when we get there, Naruto, I want you to go into sage mode and try to locate the chakra's origins."

Naruto squinted. "But why sage mode, Kakashi-sensei? I don't get it."

"It's just a theory..."

END OF FLASHBACK

Finding a minute of peace, Kakashi decided to finally confront Sakura about her situation with Naruto; being the more mature out of the two, he thought this conversation would go smoother with her. "Sakura"

"Y-yes Kakashi-sensei?" She stuttered.

"Come on, no more games Sakura. Anyone with half a common sense can tell that something's wrong with you two. You know can you always come to me if you need someone to talk to." Kakashi reassured her.

She avoided his eyes in shame.

"Look, we are in the middle of a mission right now so you don't have to tell me anything at the moment. But you have to talk to Naruto. You can already see how this, is affecting your teamwork." Sakura fought back tears from her captain's supportive words.

"I know Kakashi-sensei. I'll. I'll make more of an effort from now okay?" She pulled a genuine half smile.

Returning the smiled Kakashi finally some release of tension in the air.

"THERE!" Naruto alarmed startling his team mates.

"What is it Naruto?!"

"I-I don't know, but I've never felt anything like this either."

"Um, is it far Naru..to?" Sakura asked nervously.

Her sudden question caught the blond of guard, but recovering from the initial shock, Naruto stood up. "No, um it's quite close actually."

Kakashi shot a proud smile to Sakura. "Lead the way, Naruto."

"Roger"

_Somewhere deep within the South Forest_

Jumping from tree branch to tree branch, the trio anxiously waited for the inevitable encounter with the ominous chakra.

"Do you sense it, Naruto?" Kakashi questioned.

"Yeah, it's getting stron- LEFT!" They instantaneously redirected their momentum to their left to land in a middle of small open piece of grass circled by huge dark green trees. In the middle of the opening they were standing on, 15 meters away from them was something none of the three shinobi could explain.

"What. Is. that!?" Sakura quizzed in disbelief.

Silence brewed as they inspected the reason for their mission. After a short period of Naruto finally found the words he wanted to say, "K-kakashi-sensei, please tell us what the hell is that thing?"

"I, I can't, I have no idea what that is. But if I have to guess, it looks like a crack in the air?"

He wasn't too far off. It was a crack, several actually, a transparent crack in the middle of the air with a blinding white light leaking out from within. It made no noise, no movement, it just existed. Kakashi stared intensely into the light, contemplating their next course of action. Looking to his left he saw Naruto's and Sakura's faces filled with amazement.

"Hey you two, snap out of it we are here on a mission did you forget?" Kakashi scolded.

"Sorry Kakashi-sensei, What are your orders?" Sakura asked worryingly.

The son of the White Fang searched his memories for an event similar to this one, unsurprisingly, he failed. Kakashi noticed a sudden shift from the corner of his eye, Naruto walked closer to the unexplained object.

"NARUTO!" Kakashi and Sakura shouted caused him to stop. The blonde turned his head to see his question team mates. .

"We aren't going to learn anything about it if we don't take a closer look" He explained, taking another step forward

"Naruto stop! We don't know anything about it yet so don't just rush in. Think!" Kakashi warned '_Could his fight with Sakura be clouding his judgement_?'

The 9 tails Jinchuuriki ignored his captain's command and continued walking. The crack started to react when Naruto was within 10 meters. Widening without warning, the eye numbing white light was replaced by a dark, cold pitch black colour. Strange dark purple air oozed in the air, forming a thin layer of purple mist.

The sudden hostility scared Naruto to return to his team mates.

"Look at what happens when you disobey direct orders! I told you not to rush in!"

"How the hell was I supposed to know that was going to happen?" He yelled in self-defence.

Kakashi lifted his headband over his Sharingan, an instinctual reaction to threatening situations. Out of nowhere he heard the forming of a very familiar jutsu.

'_Rasengan?_'

"Naruto what the hell are you doing?!" Kakashi yelled beyond pissed at how irrational he's behaving. '_He would never usually do anything this reckless; I can't believe how much that fight is playing with his head_.'

"It looks dangerous. So I'm gonna destroy it" Naruto replied calmly like destroying unexplainable objects was the most normal thing to do.

Kakashi was taken aback at how large and how fast he formed his rasengan

Sakura was in equal disbelief at how serious the blonde was at destroying the object that they were supposed to investigate. "Naruto are you an idiot!? We came here to investigate that thing not destroy!"

"If it's a threat then I have the right to destroy it. If you don't like it then take it to Sasuke!"

He was truly surprised that came out of his mouth, it seemed all the emotions his bottled up emotions gave in. No words came to Sakura's head as she fully acknowledges how damaged he truly is.

"Now is not really the time for this, guys. We kinda have a situation here." Kakashi attempted to bring some focus into the mission.

The squad captain looked straight into the dark depths within the crack, the sight of the never ending darkness scared even him. He soon found himself on one knee and wondering how on earth his eye began to bleed.

His teammates looked over to see him on his knee withering in pain, but the unusual thing was that his Mangekyo was activated. Sakura rushed Kakashi's side to attend to his unexplained injury.

"Kakashi-sensei are you alright? What happened? And why did activate your Mangekyo Sharingan?"

"What? I never activated-"

[CRASH]

A deafening loud smash sounding like thousands of plates breaking simultaneously shocked the ears of the trio. The object began to break apart, judging from it's hostile behaviour it looked like it could explode at any second. Strangely enough they could hear the waves of the ocean, the call of the seagulls and several incomprehensible voices.

Naruto, however was too occupied on developing his rasengan. "This has gone long enough. I knew I should have destroyed it sooner!" Naruto declared as he took his battle stance and leaped towards the crack.

"Naruto – wait!".

"Narruuuttoooooo!" Sakura screamed with everything she had in hopes that will stop Naruto's attack. But it failed.

"Sage Art: Odama Rasengan!"

Sparks flew at every direction as Naruto's Rasengan made contact with the cracks. The constant battle took its toll on both parties as one force tried to dominate the other. The familiar sound of broken plates rattled through the eardrums of the trio once again. Naruto's attack destroyed the cracks but his forward trajectory continued. The air reversed and sucked up the dark purple chakra in the air. Sensing the objecting swallowing him, Naruto accepted his fate. _'Shit I'm dead!_'

From where Kakashi and Sakura were kneeling, they saw Naruto's attack break through the cracks followed by an eye dazzling white light that could havecovered the entire Fire country. Kakashi instinctively assuming it was a bomb, grabbed Sakura to avoid the incoming blast. As the white light slowly vanished returning the sky back to its original dark blue, Kakashi found himself hugging Sakura behind a tree several meters away from the small open piece of field where they last saw Naruto. Slowly releasing her, they looked into each other's eyes to send a mental message that asks if they were both alright.

Their eyes popped when they noticed that Naruto was missing and they couldn't even detect his chakra signature. Without a single word both Kakashi and Sakura jumped up and ran towards the epicentre of the bright light only finding nothing but a small patch of grass surrounded by trees.

Naruto was missing and they couldn't help but think of the worst. "This is all my fault..." Sakura stammered. She dropped to her knees and began to pound on the ground. "I can't believe it, it's my fault! It's all my fault!" Tears flooded her eyes uncontrollably.

Kakashi did the only thing he could do in this situation, he knelt down on one knee beside her and placed a comforting hand on her right shoulder. For a moment Sakura's sobbing stopped hoping it was Naruto, but the sobbing quickly returned, possibly even harder than before when she realized it was Kakashi.

"Hey it's not your fault okay; we were not prepared for this kind of mission. I'm the one responsible here alright." his hands squeezed her shoulder a little tighter. "Don't worry Sakura, We'll find him, I promise" Kakashi wrapped his arms around the girl for a warm embrace.

After several minutes, Sakura's crying decreased and her breathing started to form a rhythm. She then looked up at her captain's face with sore eyes and wet cheeks. "But, I, I didn't even get to tell him that I'm, I'm so sorry!" Sakura screamed from the top of her lungs in an attempt to reach Naruto, wherever he may be. Fresh tears and her weeping returned, Kakashi could do nothing else but tighten his embrace while pressing the back of her head on to his chest.

Meanwhile, in a far off dimension, the Straw Hat Crew was performing their usual everyday routines as they travelled through the New World. The Thousand Sunny was smoothly riding the ocean sea breeze on a warm spring day on the Grand Line. Luffy, Chopper and Usopp were dancing and laughing idiotically to a song that Brook was playing with his guitar. Nami was in her room drawing out a map of the island they recently visited. Robin was reading a book on the top deck of the ship drinking a freshly made drink from Sanji who at the moment was almost ready to serve lunch. Zoro was sleeping up in the crow's nest since it was the most peaceful place on the entire ship. Finally, Franky was repairing damaged parts of the ship.

It was a completely normal day on the Straw Hat ship, until an ear smashing crash was heard high above the ship which caused everyone to instantly freeze and stop whatever they were doing. All the crew members quickly ran on to the main deck of the ship to meet Luffy, Chopper and Usopp. Zoro jumped down from the crow's nest and was already in his fighting stance.

"What the hell was that noise?!" Sanji shouted believing it was an enemy attack.

"I think if you look up you'll find an answer to your question, Cook-San." Robin replied with her cool and collected tone.

"What are you talking abo-?" Sanji looked up at what everyone else was staring at, he immediately lost his words.

Usopp broke the silence to snap everyone's attention. "W-w-w-what the h-hell is that thing?"

"Shsishishi, I don't know but we should check it out" Luffy replied with his ear to ear grin.

"Baka! Look at that thing Luffy does that look safe to you?" Nami scolded while hitting Luffy on the back of his head.

"Ouch Nami that hurts you know. I was just curious." The rubber man pouted.

"That noise was so loud it would have busted my eardrums. Oh wait I don't have eardrums yohohohoho!" Brook joked.

"OW! It was SUPERRR loud. I never heard anything like that before."

"Oi, don't be fooling around just yet, we don't even know what it is." Zoro fired towards Franky and Brook never taking his eye off the object high in the sky.

[CRASH]

Another ear melting bang originated from the crack but this time it widened to the point where the crew can see the darkness within.

"OHH NO! It's hell!" Usopp Chopper and Nami screamed as they grabbed onto each other for dear life.

Luffy couldn't help but laugh at his nakama's antics. "You guys are too funny!"

[CRASH]

A third and final bang erupted. Everyone's eyes except Robins widened when they saw the sky break into millions of little pieces, leaving a massive black hole in the middle of the sky.

"Th-this is it, this is where we die. Thanks for all the memories guys" Usopp cried.

"Nooo Usopp, don't leave me!" Chopper cried out while holding on to his sniper friend with all he had.

"Oi Luffy." Zoro quietly said to his captain.

Luffy rearranged his straw hat so he could get a better glimpse of the sky. A human shaped figure fell out of the hole and headed straight down on to their ship.

Luffy looked up at the falling man with seriousness written all over his face. "I know."

The captain jumped in the air and took a huge deep breath. "Gomu Gomu No Fusen!"

Luffy inflated and caught the falling man in mid-air, softening the impact and possibly saving their life. He bounced on to the ship while the unknown man bounced off his stomach and on to the deck. Luffy quickly deflated to re-join his crew to find out more about the mystery person.

"Ohh that was a close one!" Luffy laughed while scratching the back of his head.

"Nice catch Senchou-san." Robin smiled and giggled

"Yeah Luffy, I'm surprised you didn't mess it up." Sanji said sarcastically then placed a cigarette in his mouth.

"Hey! I'm not that unreliable!"

At this point the blond with sun kissed tanned skin male was unconscious in the middle of the deck with everyone circling around him. They studied his motionless body to a great extent. They couldn't help but think his orange and black clothes were unusual. Also he radiated a strange aura that made him seems so... different. Nami stood next to Robin as they stared into his face. His hair was still spiky, but had a bed head look that made him look adorable. He had several scratches all over his body while his jacket was torn in several places.

"Could everyone stand back, please? I need to treat him!" Chopper urged while attempting to push himself into the centre of the group. The whole crew stepped aside to let the doctor carry out his examination and treatment.

Chopper had no choice but to remove his jacket and black vest in order to start the treatment. As both piece of clothing piled on top of each other next to Naruto's hip exposing his insanely ripped abs, firm tone chest and bulging arms, Nami's eyes shot wide open, she had never seen someone so beautifully sculpted before in her life. She instantly blushed at the sight.

Both females couldn't help but think how attractive this strange young man was, especially the orange haired beauty who unconsciously bit her bottom lip just by staring at the blonde. Unfortunately for her, Robin quickly took note of it and decided a little teasing was in order.

The raven haired archaeologist nudged Nami's shoulders to get her attention then gave her a cheeky wink. Her face turned bright red and shook her head frantically in silence as she tried to defend herself from Robin's assault.

In the meantime, everyone was having separate conversations involving the strange man who was sent from the heavens.

"Hey Luffy, where'd you think he came from?" Usopp questioned.

"Mmm, I don't know but I bet they have good meat!" Luffy laughed before his jaw dropped open and saliva began to drool.

Usopp sighed at the sight of his captain. "To think, I thought that you could actually come up with a sensible answer."

"Oi moss head, what do you think caused those injuries?"

"Ehhh? You talking to me you shitty cook!?" Zoro darted his eye sight towards the cook.

"Well do you see anyone with stupid green hair?!" Sanji retorted while placing his hands in his pockets and glaring right back to the swordsman.

"You wanna go curly brow?! I'll slice you in half!"

Nami's gaze returned to the unconscious blonde barely understanding how the hell he managed to literally fall out of the sky. The orange haired beauty decided to ask the smartest person she knew.

"Ne, Robin? You usually have all the answers, how did this guy all of a sudden, fall out of a black hole in the middle of nowhere?"

Robin thought extremely hard to find an answer for this most bizarre event. She searched her memory for any information from any of the books she had read.

She gasped as she remembered something relevant. Her whole body became numb from the answer she concluded in her head.

"Wh, what is it Robin?" Nami quizzed worryingly as she saw the rare shocked look on her friend's face.

"That can't be..." Robin's body became immobilized as she put together all the pieces of the puzzle. "That hole... those clothes... but that's impossible."


	2. Introductions

_'Heart rate normal, blood pressure normal, minor flesh wounds all over his body but a considerable amount of damage is done to his right hand. What happened to you?'_ Chopper thought deeply as he examined the stranger's wounds. The cotton candy lover began to wrap Naruto's body with bandages starting with his right hand. As soon as he finished he turned to tell everyone of the patient's condition.

"Good news everyone, he's going to be fine. Nothing several bandages and some rest can't fix." The doctor smiled reassuring everyone that their new visitor wasn't in immediate danger.

Luffy exhaled in relief. "Pheww, I thought we lost him there for a second." The rubber man stepped forward and knelt down next to Chopper to get a better view of the stranger. "So when do you think he'll wake up Chopper?"

The doctor looked at the blond's face before answering, "Hmmm, he took some serious damage from God knows what but nothing too major. So I guess he should be awake by tonight or tomorrow morning."

Luffy used his knees to help him stand. "Yosh! I can't wait to meet him! Hehe." putting a massive grin on his face.

Everyone else couldn't help but smile a little at the sight of their overly friendly, too trustworthy captain, except Zoro. Zoro was still sceptical about the sudden arrival of this mystery man.

"Ka...ka...sen...sei. Sa...ku...ra."

"WHAAATT?!" The whole crew screamed apart from Robin and Zoro. The pirates were left speechless as they witnessed the young stranger beginning to regain his consciousness.

"He-he-he's waking up? How's that possible?" Franky managed to stutter to the doctor.

"I don't know. He shouldn't be able to move let alone wake up?" Chopper explained while questioning his own knowledge of medicine.

Sanji recovered from the initial shock and placed a cigarette in between his lips and smiled. "He's a tough little bastard isn't he?"

Naruto managed to semi-open his eyes and noticed his vision was very blurry. His body felt heavy, weak and unbalanced. The first thing he noticed was the big bright blue light which made him think he was sent to heaven. Then the blond looked around and made out human blurry shaped figures from all directions of where he laid. He couldn't hear exactly what the figures were saying but he knew they were whispering to one another. As his body began to find its equilibrium his vision recovered and adjusted to normal. The first thing he saw was a grinning face wearing a red vest and some sort of hat.

"HEY! My name is Monkey D. Luffy, I'm going to be King of The Pirates!" Luffy made a small giggle and held his grin.

Naruto was stunned at the sudden introduction of this stranger. Instincts and years of training instantly kicked in, every fibre in the shinobi's body was telling him to create distance and fast. He kicked his knees above his head and threw his hands above his shoulder, using the momentum of his lower half he pushed on the grass with his hands to flip backwards creating significant distance between him and the group.

Satisfied at the space he created, Naruto started to observe his environment to make sense of the current situation. He looked to his left to see an endless amount of blue ocean sea that extends far into the horizon. He looked to his right to see the mast of the ship which told him he was on a boat of some sort. The blond finally looked forward to notice nine individuals all varying from each other in size and gender.

Next thing Naruto knew, his mind flashed the images of his latest memories. The crack in the air, the rasengan attack, then nothing but absolute darkness, his face was slowly overwhelmed with anger as he thought that these nine people were behind all this. They had to be since they were the only ones around after the incident.

"Who are you people?! What did you do to Kakashi-sensei and Sakura?! And where the hell am I!?" Naruto demanded as he pointed to the Straw Hats.

The entire crew was shocked at how the supposedly injured man could move so quickly. Due to the sudden shock, several members including Zoro, Sanji and Franky took their fighting stance.

Robin's eyes were locked on to the blond stranger. Gasping in disbelief as she finally managed to fit all the pieces of the man's mystery. "So I guess it's true..."

Chopper who was concerned for his patient took a couple slow steps towards Naruto with his paws and arms spread open to show that he meant no harm.

"Please calm down! If you move too much you may make your injuries worse." The doctor adviced trying to sound as calm as possible.

"Injuries?" Naruto frowned then looked down onto his chest and saw that his clothes were gone and he was covered in bandages from waist to neck. The sceptical blond froze as he considered why an enemy shinobi would treat his wounds. Perhaps he judge too fast and these were actually good people who wanted to help.

"Wait, did you do this?" Naruto asked pointing to the bandages on his body.

Chopper nodded slowly as he took another step towards Naruto. "We are not here to hurt you, I promise. Just calm down and let us explain what happened to you." The reindeer reassured the blond stranger.

Naruto suddenly felt his anger gradually slip away. Taking one big breath and slowly exhaling, he looked back at the individual who treated his wounds. His eyes popped in bafflement as he saw a small, hat wearing talking creature.

"Y-y-you're a, a, RACOON DOG!" Naruto cried out. He couldn't believe at how distracted he was that he didn't realise that he was talking to a small animal.

"I'M A REINDEER DAMN IT!" Chopper exploded as Luffy laughed his ass off while the entire crew had developed the exact same thought. 'He only realised now?'

To everyone's surprise, Nami stepped forward and walked till she was standing next to Chopper. "Yes. This little guy is a reindeer and the one who treated you. His name is Chopper and he is also this ship's doctor." Nami explained softly while rubbing the top of Choppers hat and smiling.

"I'm Nami, the navigator. It's a pleasure to meet you." The cat burglar gave Naruto a warm and genuine smile that took his breath away.

Meanwhile on the other end of the deck, everyone was shocked and confused at Nami's sudden act of hospitality and kindness to strangers. No one could explain it except Robin who had a cheeky smirk on her face. Luffy sat patiently with his head tilted as he watches Nami try to confront the confused mystery man. "When did Nami become so friendly?" The captain mumbled to himself.

Naruto was nearly left paralysed with his mouth slightly open as soon as his first saw Nami. She was wearing her usual tight light blue jeans and green and white striped bikini top that emphasised her well-endowed figure. Her long orange hair swayed gracefully with the ocean sea breeze, accompanied by the biggest and brownest pair of eyes he's ever seen. Her beauty completely distracted him and almost made him forget that she had spoken to him mere seconds ago.

"Oh, hi! Sorry I was just um, never mind, anyways my name is Naruto, it's a pleasure to meet you too Nami." The blond returned a genuine smile; it was as if Nami's presence had totally eradicated all of Naruto's previous worries and anxieties.

"So it is Naruto, is it? Come with me and let me introduce you to the crew and hopefully we can explain how you ended up getting here." She slowly walked up to him while holding her smile and took his hand and dragged him to the rest of the crew.

"Ohh, hey I can walk ya know." Naruto complained but secretly enjoying the physical contact. The blond couldn't help be amazed at the level of confidence this woman was displaying. Nami dragged the blond till he was just a few meters away from the rest of the crew. Nami pulled Naruto shoulder to shoulder on her left side while Chopped raced along Nami's right.

Everyone's worries were now lifted when they witnessed Nami dragging the man along towards their direction. The tension in the air quickly faded and was replaced by excitement and anticipation to learn more about this stranger.

Standing in front of the Straw Hat crew made Naruto feel like it was his first day of class in the shinobi academy. Different individuals showed different emotions towards him. There was a raven haired man that looked around the same age as him who couldn't stop grinning, wearing the red long sleeve unbuttoned shirt, and blue rolled up jeans, a yellow sashay around his waist and a straw hat. Behind the grinning raven haired man was the broad shouldered, brief wearing cyborg. He had a smile on his face too but not as big as his captain.

To the left side of the Straw Hat wearing man was a green haired man with three swords around his waist; one eyed closed and did not seem one bit interested, although he didn't look too happy to see Naruto, in fact his left hand remained on the hilt of one of his sword.

Next to Zoro was the long nosed Usopp, who looked visibly nervous but trying to keep his cool. On the right side of Luffy was Sanji, who was currently exhaling a puff of smoke from his mouth. His faced showed no threatening signs but one just filled with anticipation and curiosity. Standing a little behind him was the beautiful dark haired archaeologist Nico Robin. She wore her usual soft and heart-warming smile that made Naruto feel much at ease at the situation. And finally he looked at the far right side of his vision to see a very tall and skinny figure. He rubbed his eyes because he didn't believe what he first saw, after cleaning his eyes, Naruto gasped as he acknowledged that he was staring into a standing skeleton. Brook noticing the stranger was staring at him but didn't know why, so he decides to introduce himself.

"Hello, Stranger-san my name is Brook."

Naruto's eyes popped and jaw dropped. Taking a couple of steps back and pointing at brook. "Y-y-y-ou're-a-a ZOMBIE!" Naruto screamed in fright.

"WHERE!? WHERE I HATE ZOMBIES!" Brook questioned while searching for the non-existent zombie.

"HE WAS TALKING ABOUT YOU!" Usopp and Chopper yelled at the skeleton.

In the background Naruto could hear the Straw Hat wearing boy laughing hysterically once again. He then stared at this small group of people and couldn't help but picture his group of friends. Naruto's trail of thought was suddenly interrupted when he felt a small hand on his right shoulder. Nami had grabbed it to place him back to his previous spot.

She gave a warm smile and closed her eyes. "Don't worry about him, he's just a pervert. Let's go meet everyone else, yeah?"

"Uh, yeah sure."

Naruto noticed that he was now in the middle of a semi-circle surrounded by the strange group. He was now just a few steps away from the Straw Hat wearing man. Nami stood to in the middle of the two.

"Luffy, Mina, this is Naruto. He's still a little confused right now so don't ask too many questions." Nami softly requested. She then turned to the blond and gestured her underhand to Luffy.

"Naruto, this is Monkey D Luffy. , our captain and leader of the Straw Hat Pirates." Nami introduced, Luffy had his hands on his hips while smiling.

"Hi, Luffy, was it? Sorry if I scared you guys earlier I was just a little shocked and confused that's all." Naruto said smiling apologetically and rubbing the back of his neck.

"Nahh don't worry about it. Hehehe, I'm just glad you're alive." Luffy returned the smile.

"Well thank you anyway for helping me. I really appreciate it. But I really need to know what happened? Where am I? And where are my team-mates?" Naruto asked a little too demanding than he intended.

"It's probably best if you asked the smartest person on the ship and not these idiots." Nami stuck out a playful tongue at the male crew members causing them to erupt in anger. Robin giggled at her friend's childish ways. Nami took a hold of one of Naruto's wrist and dragged him to the Demon Child.

"This is Nico Robin, our archaeologist and basically the brains of this ship." Robin face lit up a tiny shade of red from hearing her roommates compliment.

"Oh stop it Nami. You're making me blush." The raven haired women smiled and waved the compliment off.

"Robin, this is Naruto. I was hoping that you'd figured out what had happened to him and how did he get here all of sudden." Nami asked hopefully, staring into Robins eyes with anticipation.

"Hello Naruto-san." Robin smiled warmly at the blond.

Naruto smiled widely and gave a single wave. "Yo! Wassup Robin!"

Robin giggled at Naruto's nonchalant greeting. "So, I think I know exactly what had happened to you Naruto-san." The Hana Hana no mi user said seriously.

"Whaaatt?!" Everyone on the ship screamed totally amazed at how Robin found an explanation to an unexplainable situation.

"You do?! That's great so what happened?" Naruto quizzed.

"Well, it seems to me that you..." Before Robin could finish her sentence, a cannon ball crashed on the water on the left side of the ship cause to sway. The entire crew and Naruto almost jumped out of their skins from the surprise attack.

"What the hell was that?!" Sanji shouted in a panic.

"We're under attack!" Chopper and Usopp panicked shooting their arms up in the air.

"Everyone get to your stations, protect the ship!" Zoro commanded and without a moment of hesitation, everyone ran to a different location of the ship except for Nami, who stayed in the middle of the deck with a confused and alert Naruto.

"A-a-a HUGE pirate ship to the left!" Usopp yelled while staring down his binoculars.

All crew members turned their attention to the left side of the ship to see another much larger pirate ship far into the distance.

"But how?! There's no way for their cannon balls to reach us at this distance!" Franky yelled anxiously.

Usopp zoomed his binoculars to the origins of the cannon fire. His eyes shot widely when he saw cannons the several times the size of theirs. "Aahhh! Their cannons are gigantic! There's no way ours can match that. What do we dooo!?"

"We'll find a way, just protect Sunny!" Luffy ordered as loudly as he could.

Naruto watched apprehensively while assessing the situation, he realised that they were under attack but most members remained relatively calm. He took a look to his right to see Nami standing next to him watching her crew mate fighting off incoming cannon balls.

The blond arched his eye brows in curiosity. "Why are you guys being attacked for? Why aren't you worried? And aren't you supposed to be helping out or something?" Naruto asked the orange haired woman who had gained his attention.

She tilted her head out of confusion. "Because we're pirates...? That's what usually happens." Nami stared back in puzzlement at the blond who couldn't comprehend what she was saying. She decided to shrug his cluelessness and explain it to him later. Instead she chose to answer his other questions.

"The reason why I'm not worried is the same reason why I'm not helping out." Nami smiled innocently leaving the blond stranger further more confused.

"They're strong enough to handle this so don't worry about it too much okay? Just enjoy the show." Nami reassured him with a comforting smile.

"I see." Naruto turned his head around to watch the spectacle that displayed in front of him.

"One Sword Style: 36 Pound Cannon!"

Naruto watched in amazement when he saw a bright blue light radiate off from one of the green haired man's swords, exploding a cannon ball when it made contact. Nami saw the astonished expression on Naruto's face while watching Zoro.

"That guy with the green hair, that's Zoro. He's the ship swordsman and first mate. He's a little rude and sleeps all day but he eventually grows on you." Nami joked.

Naruto was too amazed at the team work of this new group of people to reply anything back. The Jinchuuriki shifted his attention to another crew member.

"Anti-Matter Kick Course!"

"That other blond is Sanji-kun. He's the ships Cook and is probably one of the best chefs in the entire Grand Line." Nami praised highly.

'_One of the best chiefs? I wonder if he can cook ramen._' Naruto mentally asked himself.

"Weapons Left!"

"Cyborg Franky, Shipwright, he can build pretty much anything you ask him. He even built this ship you're standing on." Nami explained nonchalantly. Naruto remained quiet then stared at the grass that his feet were standing on. _'Cyborg? I've never seen one of those, must be new.'_

"Special Attack: Green Star, Impact Wolf!"

"That's Usopp, our sniper. Don't listen to a word he says, he tends to lie." Nami half joked then giggled.

"Hanauta Sanchou: Yahazugiri!"

"Brook, musician, second swordsman, despite his perverted mind and stupid jokes he is actually a talented musician." Nami sighed in shame. "It may not look it but he is actually over 50 years old."

_'So, old and perverted, he reminds me a bit off Ero-sennin.'_ Naruto made an audible chuckled. However, the thought of his deceased master sprung a question in his mind. _'Why aren't they using ninjutsu to deflect the cannons, surely it would be easier?_' Naruto pondered at the question for a while but decided to ask them after they dealt with the rain of cannon balls.

"Kung Fu Point!"

Naruto's eyes widened when he saw the Choppers body change in size in a slit second.

_'Was that the transformation Jutsu... no, he didn't perform any hand seals so how did he...?'_

His thought was interrupted by Nami. "You already know Chopper. If you ever get hurt just go to him and he'll fix you up in no time." She smiled once again at Chopper's direction.

"Mil Fleur: Gigantesco Mano!

The blond shinobi was almost swept of his feet when he saw two humongous pair of arms coming from the side of the ship and slapping multiple cannon balls away like they were flies.

_'That HAD to be a jutsu...? But... I can't sense chakra coming from her? WAIT! I can't sense chakra from any of them! How are they doing all this without using chakra?!'_ Naruto mind constantly grew more and more restless as he starts questioning all of what he was seeing.

He was too busy trying to figure out this bizarre phenomenon that he didn't even hear Nami's introduction of Robin. Instead the blond remained where he stood, mouth slightly open with a face of disbelief and perplexity.

He suddenly was brought back from his mind when he heard the voice of Luffy.

"Gumo Gumo No: Fusen!"

Naruto was sent into a daze when he saw Luffy's body inflate into a huge balloon to bounce of a cannon ball on his stomach.

"T-th-tha" Naruto couldn't muster the words out of his mouth.

'That- that looked like the Akamichi clans Jutsu. Is Luffy an aka... No there's no way, that would means he's a leaf shino-' Naruto's thought was then broken up by a recognizable deep voice.

**"Take a closer look, Naruto."**

'Huh? Oh hey Kurama.' Naruto spoke in high spirits after hearing the voice of his partner.

'What do you mean by taking a closer look?'

**'Jeez kit can't you tell there's something very off here?'** Kurama replied condescendingly.

'Well yeah I feel something's a little different but I didn't think it would be a big deal.' Naruto said innocently.

Kurama shook his head in disappointment. **'Naruto, firstly look at their clothes, There nothing we've ever seen before. Secondly, they don't have head bands or any signs that symbolises their loyalty to a country or clan. And most importantly, they don't have chakra but can use jutsu like moves'**

Naruto scratched the back of his head with confusion written across his whisker marked face. He then smiled and made a small chuckle. 'Haha I guess you're right, I should have noticed earlier sorry.' The blond smiled apologetically.

Kurama rolled his eyes. **'Whatever, despite this annoying situation we're in there is some good news.'**

The blond tilted his head and frowned. 'What do you mean good news?'

**'I don't sense a trace of evil coming from these people. So I guess we can trust them.'**

Naruto pulled a massive grin on his face. He was glad that he didn't have to worry about the mysterious new group. 'That's great news! I don't have to watch my back now.' Naruto half joked.

Kurama leaked a tiny smile on the corner of his lips but it quickly faded. **'We may be able to trust them but we're still pretty clueless about where we are and how you woke up in the middle of the sea. I suggest we help out with their little problem so we can find some answers.'**

The blond nodded and all of a sudden his smile disappeared and was exchanged for his game face.

As soon as Naruto brought his focus and attention back into the real world, his ears were met by yelling voices.

"We can't keep doing this all day. We got to do something!" Zoro shouted to nobody and everybody.

"Marimo is right! We either fight or run!" Sanji replied while kicking another cannon ball into the ocean.

"What you guys talking about? I'm having fun, haha." Luffy laughed out loud.

"You baka! We'll be done for if we stay here any longer." Nami scolding her captain. She then thought about the next best option. She didn't want to risk getting hurt during a fight so she decided it's better for her to run away. Her head felt like it lit up like a light bulb when she thought she had the perfect solution.

"Oi Franky!" She yelled across the ship.

"OW. What is it, Nami?" Franky replied back almost instantly.

"Do we still have enough cola for one shot of Coupe De Burst?!" Nami asked not bothering to cover the desperation in her voice.

"No we don't. Luffy got into trouble before I could buy some remember." Franky responded. "I barely have enough in my cola system right now."

Nami growled at Luffy's direction with killing intent. Luffy could only laugh and scratch his head. "I guess I'm sorry, hehe" He laughed innocently.

The orange haired women sighed in defeat as she ran out of ideas. "We're too far to fight and now we can't even run away, If only we had someone who can attack from great distance." Nami mumbled to herself and lowered her head. Out of the blue, Nami felt a big hand on her left shoulder. "Hey, don't worry we'll think of something." Nami reassured Naruto.

"Attack from great distance right?" He replied.

She was mystified by the look of determination in his face. He never made eye contact with her instead he kept looking over to the horizon were the enemy ship was.

Naruto began to slowly walk towards the wooden rails located on the side of the Thousand Sunny. With every step he took, he was slowly gaining the attention of each member of the pirate crew. By the time he jumped up on the wooden rails, the rest of the crew had gathered behind him.

"What's he doing?" Zoro questioned.

"Hey Naruto! What are you doing up there? It's not safe for up there!" Nami yelled fully concerned for the blond. But Naruto remained where he stood.

"Ahh! Your injuries haven't healed yet you must rest please!" Chopper begged.

"It's okay Doctor Chopper, I feel fine. Please let me do this to repay your kindness and treatment." Naruto replied calmly with a small smile on his lips

"D-do what?" Luffy quizzed nervously.

The blond jinchuuriki turned around to face the entire crew who all had baffled expessions on their faces. Naruto stared right into Luffy's eyes then gave him grin that even he could be proud of.

In the blink of an eye everything about Naruto had changed, his looks, his clothes and even his presence. His hair became even spikier and longer, he had strange markings all around his body and a long coat. Although it was now difficult to tell separately what were clothes and what was him. His eyes changed from sapphire blue to blood red with blacks slits for pupils. The only major difference between his look now and the time fought Madara was that this form was enlightened by orange chakra not bright yellow. Naruto had just entered full kyuubi mode.

"OOHHHH SUGOI!" Luffy, Usopp and Chopper screamed with stars in their eyes as they witnessed Naruto's new form. The rest of the crew however was left motionless. They felt some strange overpowering aura enveloping them, it wasn't a threatening type of overpowering but quite the opposite in fact. The aura gave the pirates a heightened sense of warmth and protection.

Nami, Robin, Zoro, Brook, Franky and Sanji were left speechless at Naruto's sudden transformation. It took a few seconds for the navigator to gather her thoughts well enough to form a sensible sentence.

"B-But how?" Nami managing to stutter one of the hundreds of questions in her mind right now.

Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at the sight of the variety of their reactions. "I'll tell you guys later but first..." he slowly turned around to face the enemy ship "I've got to take care of that."

Everyone watched in awe and anticipation as Naruto took his battle stance and steadied his right hand faced up and open palmed. The Straw Hats suddenly heard a strange spiralling noise. They were all left open mouthed when they witnessed a blue spherical object in Naruto's right hand manifesting itself from nothing but thin air. However, the Straw Hat pirates couldn't enjoy the sight for too long as it was followed by an ear grinding screech originating from the spherical object.

Covering their ears with the palm of their hands, they soon noticed that the strange object was no longer a small, blue and circular but was now much larger, lighter in colour with four blade-like shapes that were spinning around the sphere at insane speeds.

The crew couldn't take their hands off their ears as the ear numbing screech continues. However they also couldn't keep their eyes of Naruto who was just full of surprises. Suddenly the blond shinobi twisted his torso and head to check if Nami and her friends were alright. They didn't hear what Naruto said to them but if their lip reading skills hadn't betrayed them, then it looked like he said something along the lines of 'I'll be back in a flash.'

The last thing the crew saw was Naruto smiling, but in a blink of an eye he disappeared into thin air. He just wasn't there anymore; no one could explain it or even saw him move, he just vanished! The ringing noise from their muted ears abruptly stopped. They removed their hands from their ears and tried to think of an explanation of what just occurred. But before they could even speak, seconds after Naruto had vanished, the crew heard a distant explosion far into the horizon. All they could see was a huge, white, circular explosion right where the enemy ship was supposed to be.

Mouths open, eyes widen, throats ran dry, bodies frozen, the Straw Hat crew couldn't comprehend what on earth Naruto just did. A couple more seconds flew by accompanied by an orange flash where Naruto was standing before he had suddenly disappeared. The white explosion died down and the enemy ship was nowhere to be found. The orange flash suddenly manifested into Naruto staring at the Straw Hat crew who looked at him like he was some sort of alien.

"Are you guys alright?" Naruto asked while tilting his head to the side, puzzled as to why they were so star struck. The jinchuuriki then deactivated his Kyuubi mode, the orange chakra around his body withering away like a dying flame as he now stood in his orange trousers with his ninja tools holder wrapped around his right thigh, arms, chest and waist covered with bandages.

The crew was snapped out of their shocked state when they saw Naruto returning to his previous form.

"Sugooii!"

"That was so cool!"

"Are you a devil fruit user?"

"How did you do that?"

"Who are you?"

Naruto pull an innocent little smile and scratching the back of his head while hearing comment after comment, questions after questions from the small group of people standing in front of him. He knew he wasn't fully paying attention to their questions because he wanted to be the one to ask questions.

Naruto chuckles before replying. "Ahh that's a lot of questions. I would love to answer them but I really need to find my answ-"

[DUM DUM]

Naruto felt a sudden shock from his heart, his eye sight quickly became blurry, and the blond lost his centre of balance and could no longer feel the weight of his own body. He knew he was falling but the information barely processed in his mind, but by then all he could see was darkness. The Straw Hat pirates gasped in horror as they witness Naruto fall unconscious midsentence.

"Are you alright?"

"What happened?"

"Oi orange guy!"

"Quickly! Let's get him inside!"

The Konoha shinobi flopped on the floor face first and could hear distinct voices but could not differentiate them. Shortly after the volume of the voices slowly decreased and became mere echoes in his mind. Those words were the last thing Naruto heard before falling into deep unconsciousness.

Eyes twitching, brows furrowing, voice grunting, Naruto could feel himself slowly returning from his unconscious state. His body felt heavy and sore. It took considerable amount of effort to create any form of movement. Feeling the strain from attempting to move, he slowly began to open his eyes to identify what was causing this irritating pain. It took a short while for his sight to readjust but once they did, he found himself staring at a wooden ceiling.

No thoughts came to mind as the blond instinctively pushed himself up to sit upright. Suddenly feeling the soreness from every muscle in his body as he flinched from the pain.

Having recovered from the said pain, he finally noticed that the soft material he was laying on was a bed. Someone had also seemed to have placed him under the covers which now only covered him from waist down.

Worried about his current situation, he analysed his surroundings. He looked to his right and first saw a desk filled with books, papers, stationary and a flower pot. With further inspection, Naruto noticed a work chair, a notice board, a brief case and a small book shelf. Further to the right he saw a wooden door and figured it must be the exit.

The nine tails jinchuuriki sighed in relief, although he had no idea where he was or what he was doing here, he felt a sense of relief because at least he wasn't in some prison or in the middle of nowhere. Feeling content with his environment, he began to check himself and see the extent of his injuries. To Naruto's surprise, he found his upper body lacking both clothes and bandages. His bare skin glowed in the light and felt moist upon touch, as if he was sweating for a while.

However, the issue of a lack of a shirt was quickly dismissed when the blond attempted to move his right leg out of the duvet. The shinobi felt a nice but strange sensation under the covers. Slowly grabbing the edge and pulling upwards, he narrowed his eyes at the realisation that he somehow only had his boxers on.

Genuinely confused at his new attire, he slipped both legs out the covers and placed his feet onto the cold white tiled floor. Elbows on knees, palms on temples, fingers scratching hair and scalp, eyes closed shut.

Naruto decided to think for a while to make sense of this situation._ 'Okay okay think! I'm in a room that looks like some sort of office. I'm almost naked and I don't know where i am. Think brain! What's the last thing I remember...'_

A small eye popping gasp escaped his opened mouth when flashes of images of his latest memories played in his head. The incident with Kakashi and Sakura, the conversation with the talking reindeer, the ship he destroyed, and the orange haired women named Nami and how he collapse from Chakra exhaustion. The scratching on his head stopped and replaced by clenched fist with smooth blond hair intertwined within his fingers.

_'So that's how I ended up here. Those guys must have helped me again.' Naruto thought sadly as he felt guilty for being such a burden to these nice people. 'I should probably thank them and ask my questions as soon as possible. The longer I stay here the more worried everyone in the village will be.'_

At the moment Naruto eased the hold on his golden locks and places his hands to grab the edge of the bed help him stand. He walked around the small room in his black boxers in search for his clothes. The blond couldn't help but feel embarrassed and extremely awkward as he strides around in an unknown room with such little material. He looked around the desk which had his weapons pouch and kunai holster on it, under the bed, in the bed, on the chair, but nothing. He couldn't find it his clothes anywhere.

He turned his back away from the door to check if his materials were at the back of the room, but it was empty. He sighed in disappointment and thought about what he should do next. _'Maybe I should just stay in bed until someone shows up then I could ask about my clothes.'_

Before Naruto could follow through with his plans, the door creaked ever so quietly and was followed by the distinct sound of dropped clothes. The blonds eyes widened from shock, he knew someone is behind him and that they saw him in nothing but boxers. He was extremely anxious and he could swear a bead of sweat ran down his back. Naruto finally found the courage to meet his new visitor, so he gradually turned around to face them. His face instantly turned a few shades redder when he found the identity of his visitor.

"Ohh... hey" Naruto said in a tone that made it sound more of a question than a greeting.

_10 minutes ago_

"Oooohhh that shower was nice." said a very content orange haired navigator while wrapping herself in a white towel and walking to her bedroom, leaving a wet trail across the floor. Nami opened her huge wardrobe that was designed for two people and stared at its contents.

_'Mmm, Oh! That looks cute with that!_' Nami thought as she finalised her attire.

The navigator dried herself off and dressed in her chosen clothes. She walked in front of a mirror next to the wardrobe to stare for a while she constantly swayed her body left to right to gain a full view of herself. She stopped swaying then smiled, satisfied with the way she looked, she headed out of her room in search of a certain someone.

"Ohh Chopper there you are!" Nami said with relief.

Chopper was drinking juice with Usopp on the further end of the table while chatting about the antics that occurred yesterday, 'The day of the sky man' as they described it. Sanji was in the kitchen not so far away making preparations for dinner. Chopper's head snapped into attention as he heard his name being shouted at by a female voice.

"Hey Nami, what's up, is everything okay?" Chopper asked curiously. The tangerine lover stood on the other side of the table, closer to the door. She took a hold of the edge of the table and began to playfully fidget with it.

"Yeah everything's okay. I just wanted to ask how Naruto was doing." Nami questioned.

"He should be fine. I believe he fainted from extreme exhaustion and fatigue. He has been asleep since yesterday but he should wake up in another day or two." Chopper smiled confidently.

Nami didn't know why but she suddenly felt a massive sense of relief before she spoke. "Oh that's great news" she said as she returned the smile.

She then turned her head to say her greetings to Sanji but then she saw a neat pile of orange and black clothes on the counter.

"A-are those all his clothes?" Nami asked with an embarrassing stutter.

"Oh I forgot! I wanted to leave that in the office before he woke up."

"But why do you have all of his clothes, Chopper?" The doctor furrowed his eye brows in confusion.

"Because he was showing signs of fever. So I had to remove most of his clothes so that he could sweat the fever out before it did any more damage."

Name nodded. "Oh I see. Well don't worry. I'll put these into the office so you can rest. You've been working so hard to help him. You deserve some rest too." She grabbed the pile of clothes and smiled. Shortly after she left the kitchen and made her way to the Doctor's office.

Meanwhile Usopp and Chopper were staring at each other baffled.

"Hey Usopp, why is Nami being so kind to that Naruto? She'd usually be the first to ignore strangers wouldn't she?"

"Yeah you're right, she is acting a little weird."

Nami began humming a tune and walking down the corridors of the Thousand Sunny, holding a neat pile of clothes with both arms in front of her. Seeing the doors of the doctor's office, she unconsciously stopped the humming and decreased the pace of her strides. Nami told herself to be quite just in case she woke the patient up. She was now a few steps away from the office doors when she thought she heard sounds of movement coming from within the room.

_'Huh? Were those footsteps? No it must be my imagination. Chopper said he won't be up for another day or two. And I know I saw everyone else outside so it can't be them'_ Nami questioned her memories.

She quietly took a few more steps towards the door. Releasing her left hand's hold on the pile of clothes to free her hand, Nami grabbed the doorknob and gently pulled. The door made a tiny creak but she didn't even notice it when her eyes saw who was inside.

"Ohh... hey"

The moment Nami saw Naruto in the middle of the room wearing nothing but underwear, she instantly felt his clothes slip off her right hand as her body remained still. Her eyes widened and jaw dropped ever so lightly. She was stunned, speechless and embarrassed all at the same time. Her mouth was stuttering, desperately trying to release any form of words but she could not find them.

Naruto was standing tall, his hair a little messy from a day of sleep and every muscle on his body was tight from soreness making him look even more defined. Nami couldn't take her eyes away from his perfectly muscular sculpted body and instantly felt her temperature rising as she stared. She was brought back from her thoughts when she noticed a strange mark on his left shoulder. _'Is that a tattoo? How can I have not seen it earlier?'_

She mentally slapped herself on the side of her head for not noticing when he was passed out on the deck. But at this time, Naruto already had a mystified look on his face and wondering why she had dropped his clothes on the floor.

Nami noticed his confused face which snapped her out of her astonished condition. A sheet of bright red grew on her face as she realised that she has been gawking at him for too long and was feeling extremely mortified.

Nami gasped and shot her left hand up to her face to cover her brown eyes. "What are you doing up?! Why are you like that?!" Nami shouted angrily in self-defence from her mortifying moment.

Naruto narrowed his eyes. "Uhh, because you have my clothes?" The blond replied jokingly.

Nami's face grew even redder when she looked down to her feet and a once neat pile of clothes now messy. Her eyes still covered up, she bent down as fast as she could to grab his clothes with her free hand.

Shooting back up into an upright stance with her right arm extended offering him his clothes. "Quickly take it, you can't stay like that for ever ya know." The orange haired beauty said with annoyance and embarrassment in her voice.

Naruto pulled a small smile from the corner of his mouth after hearing the words 'ya know.' Flashbacks of his mother returned to his mind which always lifts his spirits.

"Ahhh oh yeah! Sorry haha." Naruto laughed to himself and walked over to Nami. Walking towards her was making Naruto a quite nervous and self-conscious. The fact that he was only in his underwear had hit him for a second time. However, the main reason he was embarrassed was because he was standing almost naked in front of this girl named Nami.

The blond shinobi couldn't keep his blue orbs of off her. She wore a tight pink vest that accentuation the curves of her well-endowed chest, flat stomach and hour glass shaped figure. It allowed her to show off those silky thin arms, tattoo on the same places as his, fine neck and defined collarbone.

Her lower half was covered only by some very short, tight shorts that had two circular designs on her left hip and a black belt. The shorts revealed Nami's flawless, smooth, long legs that caused Naruto's heart to skip a beat. They were perfectly proportionate with the rest of her body and the blond couldn't help but swallow to aid his dried up throat. The 20 year old was completely star struck by her luscious feminine figure but he had to stop staring before she noticed.

He reached out and took hold of his clothes with his left hand and pulled it closer to his chest. Nami's arm returned to her side and quickly turned around so she could uncover her face. "There's a shower down the hall to the left that you can use. There should be fresh towels hung behind the door." Nami said anxiously.

Naruto nodded in appreciation.

"When you're done, you can come to the kitchen. Sanji is almost done with dinner. Just walk past these doors and make your first right." The navigator instructed.

"Okay, thanks again Nami, for helping me." Naruto said shyly while looking at her long orange hair.

Nami grew a small smiled and began to walk away; she raised her right arm and waved. "No problem but just don't tell anyone about this or I'll have to fine you." Nami responded playfully but totally serious.

The sight of Nami's bright orange hair walking further and further away triggered a familiar voice within Naruto.

**"What do you think you're doing, Naruto?!"** Kurama snapped.

"What?" He questioned the huge fox.

**"How are you going to let a beautiful girl like that slip through your fingers?"**

"Who? Nami?"

**"Yes of course her! Don't you see that she's the perfect girl for you to finally get over that Sakura?"**

Kurama's valid point caused Naruto to pause for a moment, he was still down from Sakura's decision but he didn't want to show it to his partner. Thus instead of replying back to his point about Sakura, he focused on Nami.

"Perfect girl? I don't know about tha-"

**"Hmph! Oh please I thought you said you hated people who lied to themselves but yet here you are doing just that."**

A blushing Naruto looked away and pouted.

**"And don't forget we share the same body and mind. I know what type of girls you like so stop messing around a make a move already!"** Kurama strongly advised.

Naruto huffed. "Just because she's my type doesn't mean I'll automatically like her! And besides, I'm not going to force myself to like anyone just to get over Sakura, you stupid fox." Naruto said as he pinched his chin. "However, she is pretty and interesting, definitely never met a girl like her before, I guess getting to know her better wouldn't hurt?"

After Naruto regained consciousness he noticed that in the time his conversation with Kurama, Nami had only taken a couple of steps away from him. Trying to sound assertive and cool he managed to think of something to extend the conversation.

"I like your tattoo by the way, mind if you tell me about it someday?"

Nami felt her whole body shut down after listening to Naruto's compliment of the tattoo that meant the world to her. She quickly grew a blushed face but continued to walk away.

"Thanks and alright, but only if you tell me about yours too." she replied with a hint of teasing and continued to walk around down the corridor but this time with an excited smile on her face.

_'Yup, definitely never met a girl like you before.'_

_15 minutes later. Kitchen/Dining Room_

Naruto entered through the wooden doors all freshen up in his new cleaned clothes. He wore his usual orange trousers with black sandals. However his jacket was nowhere to be found and was replaced a single black vest that he wore underneath his jacket that displayed his arms freely. The sound of cutleries rubbing against plates instantly ceased. The blond found himself in front of the entire pirate crew who had already begun dinner.

He tightened and adjusted the headband on his forehead. "Umm what's up?" He said with a small awkward smile.

The pirates all had bewildered looks on their faces as like they just saw something utterly impossible. "Ooo so Nami wasn't kiddin, you are awake." Luffy said with delight while chewing his food.

"But, how are you doing this!?" Chopper asked completely clueless. "You shouldn't even be conscious let alone be able to walk around?!" The doctor added.

"Our guest sure is full of surprises." Brook commented and gave his usual laugh.

Naruto nervously laughed to himself. "Yeaahh, I can explain that."

Franky turned around from his seat. "What happened to you yesterday, you looked fine one second then the next you were out cold?" Franky quizzed obviously concerned for his health.

"I guess my injuries were a lot more serious than I thought." Naruto laughed while scratching his head. "But I assure you I'm 100% fine now thanks to you, Doctor Chopper. Thank you for taking care of my injuries again, I really appreciate it."

Everyone else pulled a warm smile as they put all their worries of this visitor to rest.

"Well then, take a seat you don't want to eat cold food, do you?" Asked Sanji who had his eyes on the food.

Naruto looked ahead and saw an empty chair in on the end of the long rectangular table which had a shiny white plate with cutleries on each side already waiting for him.

"Sure, thanks." The blond said and walked towards his seat.

By the time Naruto had sat down, everyone had already continued with their meals and previous conversations. He felt relieved that he wasn't being deeply observed like some sort of laboratory experiment. The blond looked around the table to renew his memories of the pirates' face, names and abilities. The first person he studied was the straw hat wearing captain Luffy.

_'So Luffy is the captain of this ship and crew. I guess that sort of makes him the Hokage here.' _Naruto thought. The shinobi then looked to his left and tried to remember the names to the faces. _'If I remember correctly that's Usopp, Zoro, Brook and next to me is Sanji.' _Naruto then looked to his right hand side to refresh his memory_. 'Mmm, I know that's Chopper, Robin, Nami and this big guy here is Franky.'_

Nami looked to her left and noticed Naruto was deeply observing the entire crew. Her stare at the blond was almost like an invisible poke as it gained his attention almost instantly. Nami pulled a small smile and nodded her head to the food below to show that he need not worry and he should eat. Naruto returned a similar smile and nod and began to place all types of food on to his plate.

Dinner was nearly finished and people were a few bites away from finishing their meal. The atmosphere in the Thousand Sunny kitchen was cheerful and in high spirit. There were laughs, jokes and smiles all around the table. Luffy was making funny faces the bones of his meat, Nami scolded him for playing with his food, Brook was burping occasionally, and Sanji and Zoro had their billionth argument. It was normal and happy evening in the Straw Hat ship, even Naruto was laughing along with this most bizarre group of people. Despite his worries of where he was and his missing teammates, he was having fun.

After releasing an audible laugh to one of Luffy's jokes, everyone's eyes magnetised to Naruto's seat. The blond felt a sudden jolt down his spine as nine individuals gave him their absolute attention.

"So? Where are you from Naruto?" Luffy asked innocently.

"Huh? Oh um…" Before Naruto could even process the captain's question, the blond was astonished by the oncoming rain of other questions from the rest of the crew.

"Yeah and which devil fruit did you eat?"

"What did you do to that ship yesterday?"

"How did you change your clothes so fast?"

"You were the one who blew that ship up right?"

"What was that thing in your han-"

"Ahem."

The entire table came to a standstill, silence brewed in the air and all focus was now on the raven haired archaeologist. Robin had one arm folded across her stomach while the other cupped her mouth as she pretended to cough.

"I'm sorry for interrupting everyone but I think our bewildered blond friend here is the one wanting to ask the questions. Isn't right Naruto-san?" Robin smiled warmly.

The blond shinobi looked into Robin's eyes and nodded thankfully. He sighed in relief that the bombardment of questions had stopped but the feeling of relief was quickly exchanged for seriousness.

He was finally about to gain the answers he desperately wants. "Okay, I guess my first question is where am I?"

"You are in the second half of the Grand Line, The New World." Robin answered calmly.

The entire crew watched patiently for Naruto's reaction, they expected him to freak out knowing he just landed on the most dangerous sea in the world. However, what they saw was quite the opposite.

Naruto brow creased and head tilted with a silly confused look on his whisker marked face. "Grand Line? New World? What's that?"

"WHAAATT?!" screamed everyone except Robin.

Naruto jerked backwards from the sudden screams of eight stunned individuals, the way they reacted made him feel like he was the stupidest person on earth.

"Oi Chopper, check his head again maybe he lost his memories or something?" Zoro asked.

"How do you not know The Grand Line?! It's only the greatest sea in the world!" Usopp quizzed.

Robin twitched. "That's the thing Nose-san, maybe Naruto-san isn't from this world." She paused and steadied herself for her next comment. "Or this dimension for that matter."

A small eye popping gasped escaped everyone's mouth after listening to Robins comment. Meanwhile Naruto was frozen solid in his chair, staring deeply at the tall black haired women and unable to think of a coherent reply.

"What?! What do you mean Robin-chan?" Sanji replied leaning closer into the table.

"I believe that Naruto-san is not from this world."

Every living thing in the room felt their heart work a little harder, the air around the table somehow felt a little colder.

Everyone had a look of horror and uncertainty on their face but no one felt more confused than Nami. "Hey wait a second Robin; are you saying he's an alien?" she looked over to her left to see bemused Naruto.

Robin giggled at her friend's comment as she said "Does he look like an alien Nami?"

The tangerine lover looked at the blond's beautifully sculpted face, sapphire orbs, "No...But what do you mean by he is not from this world?" Naruto was now lost into Nami's brown eyes. Thankful for him, the two ladies were the ones having the conversation as he was too stunned ask questions himself.

"After Naruto-san had collapsed, I did some research in the library to confirm what I thought was the explanation for his unexpected arrival."

"And what did you find?" Nami questioned her roommate.

"I found a theory, the dimension window theory that states that there are an infinite number of dimensions or universes. These universes are stacked up next to one another like books on a shelf. It seems that Naruto-san somehow left his book and ended up on ours."

All of a sudden Naruto dashed out of his seat and grabbed with edge of the table with force. "WHERES YOUR PROOF!? THIS, CAN'T BE. I'M-"

The whole crew jerked in shock from the blond's sudden eruption. Muscles tensed and alarms were raised, they knew Naruto single handed destroyed a massive pirate ship, so they were slightly afraid of him. Sanji tensed his legs and Zoro reached for Shuusui. Robin darted from her seat with her arms reached and palms facing Naruto.

"Naruto-san please calm down, I know it doesn't make sense but please let me explain." The raven haired women explained with concern and sympathy. The enraged blond looked at Robin's concerned face who was desperately trying to keep him calm.

Turning his attention on to the rest of the Straw hat pirates who looked prepared for a fight. He swallowed and inhaled. All the built up energy within him gradually faded and he slowly found himself sitting on his chair but his hands remained gripped on the table.

"I'm sorry to say this but I believe you have entered into another universe by breaking through a dimension window." Robin explained while sitting back down on her chair. Naruto looked at her in a way that signalled her to continue with her explanation.

"There have only been a handful of people who had ever said to have witness a dimension window, but I have come across a 150 year old journal from a researcher who was labelled mentally unstable because he wrote about a strange crack in the sky. Sounds familiar? This researcher wrote on his journal about how he had travelled through the air and into a new world, this one. He told people about the phenomenon but no one believed him. They thought he was crazy and ignored the poor man. In the journal, he had theorised that that crack in the air is caused when two dimensions come into contact and leave a scar, the crack was that scar. Naruto-san I believe you have smashed your way into that scar and ended up here."

The room quickly filled with a spine tingling silence as everyone absorb Robin's explanation. Naruto's face turned pale as he realised the truth of his situation. He was in a different universe. His mind was in the middle of an inner conflict between rational reasoning and biased opinions. Deep down he didn't want to accept the fact that he was transported into a whole new world. But he could tell from Robin's sincere tone that she wasn't lying, she had no reason to. Naruto stared down on to the white table cloth unable to interpret his emotions, confusion, denial, sorrow and astonishment all felt like they were rolled up into one big emotion.

"Is, is there a way back?" Naruto asked with fear, but the tone sounded like he already knew the answer.

Robin lowered her head in disappointment. "I am so sorry, dimension windows are not something that just occurs every other day nor can it be artificial produced. They are a naturally occurring phenomenon that no one can predict. I'm sorry but I'm afraid you're stuck here."

His chest experienced shots of pain as soon as Robin stopped talking. The last sentence dropped on Naruto like a ton of bricks. The entire Straw Hat crew stared at him with eyes of sympathy and concern. But no one had felt more pain for the headband wearing man than Nami. Despite the emotional war raging within him, Naruto was able to think relatively clearly.

_'This is totally crazy, there's no way, but... that would explain everything. How I ended up here, why Kakashi-sensei and Sakura are missing, why I can't sense chakra from anyone. I guess I really am in a different universe. There must be a way back, there must be! Whatever it is I will find it and also I know Kakashi-sensei, Baa-chan and the others won't give up in finding me'_

With that thought, a new ray of hope enlightened Naruto. He felt a sudden shift of emotions. He felt reassured and hopeful. It had been a while since anyone had spoken since Robin's explanation and some of the pirates' patience was running thin. Just before Sanji was about to break the silence, Nami's voice rung in everyone's ears.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Naruto was brought back from his thoughts and turned his gaze away from the table and into the eyes of the orange haired beauty. "Yeah, yeah I'm okay. It's just a lot to take in ya know." Naruto said weakly with a half-smile that fooled no one.

"You sure?" Nami asked with more demand.

"Yeah really Nami don't worry I'll figure something out ha-ha." The blond replied with laugh and a bigger more convincing smile, rubbing the back of his head in the process.

The crew was astonished at the stranger's laidback reaction. It was unbelievable for someone to be so carefree knowing they just lost everything they once knew. But not wanting to spoil the new, more up lifting mood, everyone chose to follow Naruto's emotional lead.

"You know we're here to listen if you ever need to talk" Nami spoke as assuring as she could to comfort Naruto who was obviously masking his emotions.

"Thanks." Naruto gave Nami a weak smile. "I'll keep that in mind."

Nami replied with an equal sized smile.

"So, I guess since you answered my questions, it's only fair that I answer yours, fire away." Naruto declared with an open palm hand gesture to signify that he was ready to answer any questions. The pirates gave each other questioning looks wondering who should ask and most importantly what to ask. Eye brows were raised and heads shook in refusal. However since Luffy was captain, the questioning looks were eventually targeted at him.

Luffy noticed and decided to take responsibility. He looked forward to where Naruto was sitting right across the rectangular table.

"Who are you?" Luffy asked plainly.

The whole crew stared at Luffy like he just asked the most stupid question in the world. But then they realized that they really have no clue who this guy really was, especially now knowing that he was from an entire different universe. Everyone's eyes slowly turned to Naruto who was now adjusting fiddling with his headband.

"My name is Naruto Uzu... I mean, Namikaze, a shinobi from the Hidden Leaf Village, the son of the Fourth Hokage and the Jinchuuriki of the Nine-tailed Demon Fox." Naruto answered proudly.

Although he had known his true heritage years ago, he was still adjusting to the fact that his surname was truly Namikaze. Looking at the faces across the table, the pirates looked at him like he grew a second head and had spoken in alien language. However the silence was broken by four astounded voices.

"Did you say SHINOBI?!" Luffy, Chopper, Brook and Usopp shouted in amazement with stars in their eyes and practically drooling on the floor.

"Yeah. Oh of course, you probably don't have any shinobi in this dimension, do you?" giving the crew an 'I should have known' smile.

"I'm sorry Naruto-san but I think I speak for everyone here when I say we don't have a clue what you were saying." Robin half joked with her fingers covering her mouth to hide her giggle.

"Oh I guess you're right. I'm sorry." Naruto smiled apologetically. "I think it best to start from the beginning..."


	3. A New Life

On aboard the Straw Hat pirate ship, the night was young and the sea was calm, but a serious conversation was underway. "I think it best to start from the beginning... the place I call home is named the village Hidden in the Leafs..."

Naruto trailed off to explain the basic structure and functions of a ninja and a village. He explained how the village was divided between normal civilians and shinobi, the duties and responsibilities of a shinobi, the five great nations, how each nation's shinobi forces are made up of multiple ninja clans and finally the roles of the kages.

Naruto mentally chuckled when he saw the bewildered look on every single persons face around the table as they tried to absorb the string of information he had just explained. Once they finally had a vague idea of the concept of the village and shinobi, the questions rained down upon him.

"So let me get this straight" Nami paused to collect her thoughts. "You come from a place called the Village Hidden in the Leaf. You go on missions requested by other lands to earn money?"

Naruto shut his eyes, folded his arms and nodded.

"There are other ninja clans in your village with different abilities?" Asked Chopper

Naruto continued to nod.

"And there are four other nations like yours with different kages to lead and protect the villagers?" Franky quizzed.

"Yup."

"Didn't you mention that you're the son of the Fourth Hokage? Isn't that right? " Robin asked intensively.

"Ahh so you picked up on that. You're very smart Robin." Naruto complimented cheekily. "But yes, my father was once the leader and the strongest shinobi of my village. But I only came to know about that a few years ago though since it was decided to keep it a secret from me since birth by the Third Hokage."

"But why?" asked the orange haired women whose face was filled with curiosity and interest in the blond's background.

Naruto scratched the side of his head and weakly smiled "That's a long and boring story I'm sure you don't want to hear it. But back to my father; He died protecting the village along with his wife and new born baby from a demon."

"D-d-d-demon?!" Usopp asked failing to stop his stutter and chattering of his teeth.

"Yes, the nine tails demon." Naruto said then trailed off to explain what tailed beasts were and how they varied in tails and abilities.

"... And the nine tails is the most powerful, dangerous and most malevolent out of all the tailed beasts."

Kurama smirked arrogantly.

"Then how did your father defeat a monster like that?" Sanji asked respectfully.

Naruto lowered his head, stared at the table cloth for a second then replied "It cost him his and my mother's lives. But he sealed the nine tail's chakra..." Naruto thought and realised he has yet to explain the concept of chakra yet. "Or life force if you will, into his new born baby, me." The blond explained with emotionless words.

"WHAATT?!" the pirates screamed in perfect unison. All baffled at why a father would do that to his newborn son. "But why would he do that to you?" Luffy asked with deep sympathy.

"Uhh, that's another really long story. I'd be here all night if I were to tell you every boring detail." Naruto laughed to himself.

All of a sudden the laughs stopped and a serious face adorned on Naruto's face. "So anyways, do you guys wanna meet him?" The blond shinobi asked intensely.

"W-who?" Brook question with obvious fear and anticipation.

"Kurama of course, the nine tailed demon fox."

Everyone jerked from their seats and didn't realise in the process they had slightly leaned away from the blond ninja.

"W-w-what do you mean meet?" Nami questioned apprehensively while feeling her spine tingle from anticipation.

Naruto grew became concerned that he had terrified the pirate crew to think he was about to unleash evil upon them. He reached out his arms and waved with both hands to in defence and to explain.

"Don't worry. He is not going to hurt you. Besides you've kinda met already." Naruto elaborated.

"We have?" Luffy asked.

Closing his eyes and folding his arms once again. Remaining quiet for a second until he was sure he'd grabbed everyone's attention. The pirates watched in great anticipation to see what Naruto was planning. Suddenly his eye lids flashed open and the straw hats were met with a familiar pair of blood shot red eyes with black thin slits for pupils that looked like the personification of death itself. The whisker marks on his face grew thicker, his teeth became sharper and hair became longer. .

"Y-your eyes" Zoro pointed out.

"It's the same as yesterday when you changed." Sanji finished with a hint of alarm.

"W-what's going on?!" The navigator stammered. Narutos new red eyes looked around the eyes of everyone in the room before he spoke.

**"Hello pirates, I'm the Nine tailed Demon Fox, Kurama."** the fox said with his deep intimidating voice. The crew instinctively came on high alert despite Naruto's warning that he would not hurt them.

"Ehhh, what happened to you?! Do you have split personalities or something?!" Nami freaked.

**"No, young lady. I'm the tailed beast Kurama. My existence is merely stored within Naruto. We are two entities into one body."** Kurama explained slowly.

Mystified faces remained staring at Naruto, except Luffy's who had the look of amazement from conversing with a demon.

"But that doesn't explain how there are two living entities are living in one body?" Robin asked out of nowhere.

**"Allow me to explain. On the night of Narutos birth, I was summoned and controlled by a malicious man who named himself Madara at the time. I was manipulated to destroy Naruto's village and for some parts of it I did. However, Minato Namikaze, Naruto's father, the Yondaime Hokage and his mother, Kushina Uzumaki, sacrificed their lives to keep this boy safe. Minato sealed my chakra within Naruto's new born body for two reasons, the first was to put an end to my rampage and the second was because he believed that one day in the future, Naruto would bring peace in the Shinobi World."**

The looks of anxiety and alertness from the straw hats slowly faded and were exchanged for one of sorrow and sympathy. "So he's an... orphan?" Nami asked softly, so soft that it's almost as if she whispered it. Her head sunk as her long orange bangs covered her face.

"Nami..." Luffy replied with worry and understanding.

Everyone had known sorrow and despair in their past but none knew the feeling of losing their parents better than Nami. She had never known her biological parents and her adopted mother was murdered right before her eyes at a very young age. She knew what it was like being an orphan so she shared Naruto's pain.

**"Yes, He has been an orphan all his life. His childhood however is a different story. Since the demon that destroyed almost half the village was within him, the villagers shunned and ostracised him. He grew up with no friends, no family, no one to talk to and he didn't know why. It was years later that he learnt that it was because I was locked up inside him that all the villagers hated him."**

Luffy couldn't believe what he was hearing, he clenched his fist so hard it began to shake and every muscle on his body tensed. "But why?! He didn't do anything wrong. He and his parents saved everyone. So why was he being punished for something he didn't do?!" Luffy cried out in an emotional rant, asking the question that everyone had in their minds.

**"This boy was viewed nothing but the incarnation of the demon about whom parents told scary stories to their children at night."** Kurama spoke with disgust**. "His father wanted Naruto to be the hero of that terrible night 20 years ago not to blamed for it."**

"That's- terrible!" Robin declared wide eyed.

**"Indeed it was, he lived through hell for many years. However, He'd already forgiven the villagers and the village for what they done to him years ago. Right now, he is actually one of the most powerful and respectable shinobi in the leaf.**" Kurama laughed at the irony.

"It's a sore subject but if you want to talk about it I'm sure he will." The fox finished.

With that, the mood in the room began to pick up again. All the anger and resentment for Narutos villagers slipped away and was exchanged with happiness from Naruto's success story. Nami felt extremely relieved to hear that the orphan Naruto was now in a better and happier place. She willed herself not to drop a tear from hearing his story. She looked up and a bright smile returned to her face.

"Kurama-san?" Robin asked, shocking the nine tails fox at how calmly she addressed him. "I can't help but notice hearing this word 'chakra' over and over again; Naruto-san said it was like a person's life force? Is that true?" Robin quizzed with her curiosity reaching its peak.

**"Uh, essentially yes, but I think it's best for the kit to explain the concept of chakra. Farewell pirates!"** Kurama closed Naruto's eye lids shut, and slowly the thick whisker marks on his cheeks returned to their thinner state and his hair a shortened a few centimetres. Once Naruto had opened his eyes again, he was greeted with different emotions on people's faces. Some were surprised to see him back to normal. Others had the look of respect. While others looked sympathetic.

The blond scratched the back of his head and smiled awkwardly. "I guess he told you guys a little too much huh?" He laugh to himself.

"But my childhood is a story for another dinner maybe, right now you want to know about chakra, right Robin?" Naruto gave the archaeologist an innocent questioning look.

"Hai."

"Mm, what's the easiest way to explain this?" Naruto pinched his chin with his thumb and index finger and thought as he looked at the speechless pirate crew who were still processing Naruto's background and hardship. "Ah! I got it!"

The pirates' curiosity peaked.

"Just watch" Naruto cheekily smiled.

Sitting upright on his chair and extending his right arm with a face up open palmed hand. The pirates couldn't help but think that this pose looked strangely familiar. All of a sudden, a swirling high pitched noise entered the room followed by a memorable blue spiralling ball of energy in Narutos extended hand. The straw hats watched in amazement as they finally get to see up close on what had destroyed an enemy ship. They all leaned in forward to gain a better view of the ball of energy.

"Sugoi! How did you do that?" Luffy queried star eyed.

Naruto stared into his newly formed Rasengan. "This, is chakra." Leaving everyone in the room completely baffled.

"OW, What do you mean that's chakra? What is that?" Franky quizzed with sincere confusion.

Looking up at Franky for a second then returning to the Rasengan, Naruto replied. "This ball here is called the Rasengan, and the blue energy within it is my chakra."

The pirates remained silent as they waited for Naruto to continue with his explanation. "You see, where I'm from, people are born with this inner energy known as chakra, but it's up to them whether to develop it or not."

"So it's a choice?" Nami asked. "Yes, if you don't wish to become a shinobi then you don't get taught how to mould chakra." Naruto explained.

"Mould!?" Robin's eyes narrowed.

"Yes, you see there are two different types of chakras, the physical chakra within a person's physical body and the spiritual chakra which resides in a person's mind. Mixing the two chakras together allows one to perform ninjutsu."

"And what is ninjutsu?" Sanji retorted with a furrowed eye brow. "Mmm, that's quite difficult to explain, I'm not really the book smart type." Naruto laughed for a second then paused. "But this thing here is ninjutsu" "Naruto pointed his left index finger to the spiralling ball.

Luffy leaned back on his chair and crossed his arms. "So it's a mystery energy"

"No you idiot he just explained it to us!" Nami snapped back to her captain, causing Naruto to chuckle. He then dispelled the Rasengan as his hand into nothing but thin air with the swirling sound also vanishing with it into nothing.

"So did you use this 'ninjutsu' to destroy that pirate ship yesterday?" Robin queried

Naruto nodded. "The orange clothing that appeared out of nowhere on my body was chakra, but not mine. I used Kurama's chakra not only to strengthen my Futon Rasenshuriken but also to extend my range on another Jutsu. The Shunshin no jutsu."

Eyes filled with questions emerged from the pirates faces. "Futon rasen-? Shunshi-?" Usopp questioned.

"Futon Rasenshuriken" Naruto answered "It's a jutsu that I created myself. It involves mixing my chakra nature and chakra form. You don't want me to get into the technical part of chakra believe me. But yes it is what I used to deal with the other pirate ship." He said proudly.

"Y-you created that, that thing?!" Nami questioned.

"Yeah, and it wasn't an easy task I'll tell you that much." Naruto chuckled to himself.

"But how did you get there and come back so fast, that ship looked tiny in the horizon? You just disappeared then reappeared?" asked the raven haired archaeologist.

"You pick your questions wisely don't you Robin." Naruto complimented which caused Robin to giggle. Nami felt herself becoming slightly jealous for some reason but hastily shrug the emotion.

"The answer to your question is the Shunshin no Jutsu. It's a technique that allows me to travel from one spot to the other at blinding speeds. This jutsu is usually used for short distant travels because it can eat up a lot of chakra if used exponentially. However, since I used Kurama's chakra, it allowed me to travel faster and to greater distances."

"T-that's amazing" Nami responded with great admiration.

"Yeah! Tell me about it!" Luffy agreed.

"Umm, if you guys don't mind, I have another question of my own." Naruto asked out of the blue.

"Sure, what is it?" The captain assured the blond.

Naruto paused to ensure that everyone was listening. "I know you guys are pirates but what exactly do you guys do?"

The whole crew looked at one another as in misunderstanding. They didn't even know where to begin to answer that question. Luffy broke the silenced moments later.

"We are the Straw Hat pirates and we are searching for the One Piece!" The captain shouted with excitement, earning a small smile from the rest of his crew.

The lost shinobi narrowed his eyes. "One Piece?"

"Minna-san, Shinobi-san here is from another dimension. Remember? Let's start with the basics?" Robin interrupted with a smile.

'Shinobi-san?' Naruto whispered to himself.

For the next half an hour, Naruto studied intensely as the crew took it in turns to explain the details about the one piece, Gold Roger, the marines, the world government, the war lords, the bounty system, bounty hunters, the Grand Line, New World and the concept of devil fruit powers.

It took a while for Naruto to absorb all the information. But if there was any doubt that he was in a new dimension, it was certainly gone now.

"Okay wait, so you're telling me that you guys are searching for the previous pirate king's treasure the One Piece?"

The pirates nodded in unison.

"Some of you have these powers by eating a devil fruit?"

"Yup" Luffy replied smiling. "But you have Marines, the World Government, the Shichibukai and bounty hunters chasing after you every single day?" Naruto asked sounding more curious with every word that left his mouth.

"Yeah..." said Zoro lazily.

Naruto took a moment to confirm his thoughts then released a small chuckle. "You guys are crazy you know that right." The blond joked whilst rubbing the back of his yellow hair and laughing to himself.

"WHAT DID YOU SAY BLONDIE?!" Zoro shouted ridiculously, leaving Luffy laughing his ass off in his chair from Zoro's reaction. The rest of the crew smiled and laughed along with Naruto's joke. Luffy readjusted in his seat and rubbed the tears of laughter from his eyes.

"You're funny, Naruto." The captain said whilst still laughing. Moments later Luffy's laugh died down and there were smiles all around in the Thousand Sunny kitchen.

Luffy punched his fist and grinned widely. "That's that! Naruto join my crew!" The captain declared with utmost confidence.

"EEEHHH?!" shouted the rest of the pirates in perfect harmony.

"Don't decide things by yourself!" Zoro and Sanji screamed at their captain.

"Ohh? Why not? He's super strong and funny. Why wouldn't I want him in my crew?" The rubber man replied with a chuckle and a grin. Zoro and Sanji sighed in defeat, however they both admit to themselves that their captain is absolutely right.

"He is strong I give him that." Sanji finally admitted.

"And I guess he is not the most annoying guy in the world." The green haired swordsman reluctantly admitted while giving the blond cook an implying stare.

"Are you saying I'm the most annoying guy in the world?!" The cook lashed out.

Zoro narrowed his eyes. "Isn't it obvious, baaakaa."

After a watching another episode of Zoro's and Sanji's verbal assaults, Luffy laughing at the name callings and Nami finally breaking the fight, there was an eerie silence when Naruto and Luffy had stared into each other's eyes. "So? What do you say, join my crew" The Straw Hat captain insisted.

Naruto continued his stare into Luffy's eyes to ensure that this wasn't some joke he was playing, but Luffy's eyes displayed nothing but truth and determination which shocked the blond shinobi. He'd never met someone who had so much faith and trust in him so quickly before.

"But, you don't even know me? Why would you-"

"I know plenty enough, I know you're strong and a nice guy and that's all I really need to know. Join my crew." Luffy insisted once again.

The rest of the crew mentally sighed and shook their heads at their overly trusting captain. But they knew he had a point, Naruto had done nothing but help and respect them.

Naruto considered the proposal in his head for a moment before replying. _'Could I really be a pirate? I mean they are nice and trustworthy people and they've helped me so much. But, I got to get to the village, it's my home.'_

"Oh I don't know Luffy. It all sounds tempting really, but my village..." The blond dropped his gaze down on to the table.

"Come on now captain. The guy has been a lot lately. Don't make it more confusing for him. Give him some time to think and I'm sure he'll have a definite answer soon." Sanji interrupted as he stood from his seat.

"Everyone should go to sleep, it's getting late and I still need to clean these plates." The cook ordered.

With that, the rest of the crew also stood from their seats and made their way towards their rooms with the noise of several conversations occurring at once.

"But Sanji I wanted more food!"

"Wow when did it get so late?"

"I don't know but I'm going to sleep good tonight!"

"Luffy is not going to give up on Naruto so easily is he?"

"You know how stubborn our captain is"

Naruto stood clueless not knowing where to go or what to do.

"Oi Franky!"

The cyborg turned around to face the voice that called him. "What is it Sanji?"

"Take Naruto here to the guest bedroom. He should be alright there for the time being."

_2 Hours Later._

It has been a couple of hours since the dramatics of dinner in the straw hat kitchen. The time was reaching 12:30 and the night was deafened by silence. The pirates were all confined in the comforts of their own rooms while Naruto was escorted to the guest bedroom.

Darkness consumed the room of Nami and Robin. The ladies were tucked in their beds just a few meters away from one another only separated by small bedroom desk with a lamp on top. They had already said their good nights half an hour ago but there was something different in the air tonight that kept the two ladies awake.

Nami was facing with her back to Robin with her knees curled up and her arms folded around her chest. She didn't know why but she couldn't stop replaying the conversation in the kitchen in her head. When she thought about Naruto, her heart would race and her body tingled with all sorts of interpretable emotions. The navigator felt extremely happy that she now knew more about him and where he was from. But she also couldn't shake the heavy feeling in her heart knowing that the blond is now stuck in a completely new world and losing everything that was normal to him.

She thought about what it would be like if she were in his shoes, being transported to another universe and losing all her crewmates and everything that was normal to her in the process. The heavy feeling in her heart suddenly felt like someone had grabbed it with all their might. Nami's body clenched from the visualisation of being alone, desperate and confused.

_'I can't believe how laid back he is about all this, if it were me... He must be hiding his true emotions probably to spare us the burden. That must be it! He must be so broken right now. I should make sure he's okay.'_

Just as Nami was about to leave her bed, Robin's voice rang through her ears, almost scaring the life out of her. "You're awake right?" The archaeologist suggested with confidence.

_'How did she know?'_ The tangerine lover flinched in her bed from the voice of the supposed-to-be-asleep Robin. Nami remained still not knowing how to make her next move.

In the end Nami, sat up straight, leaned on the back headboard of the bed and stared deeply into her lap. "Um, yeah, but I don't know why." Nami lied for some reason unknown to her.

"Does it have to do with a certain blond shinobi?" Robin questioned with a hint of tease. Nami didn't see it but she could have sworn Robin had said that with a tiny smile on her face. The navigator's face turned cherry red as her mind was freaking out. _'Is she psychic now too?!'_

"What?! No of course not." She thanked all the gods that the room was dark so Robin couldn't see her blushing.

"Nami, I can tell from the way you've been looking at him since the very moment he appeared…You like him don't you?" Said the older women with poise and wisdom.

Nami grew a shocked face from hearing her friend's observation of her but was too annoyed to reply back. In Nami's head she denied every word Robin was saying, but was more surprised at how her wise roommate could make up something so ridiculous.

"What?" Nami darted her attention towards Robin's bed despite knowing she wouldn't be able to see her. "It's not like that, I. I just feel sorry for him that's all."

Robin paused for a second to think about her next response. She smiled when she finally figured it out. "If you say so..." She replied mischievously to provoke the younger lady.

Nami instantly felt her skin crawl and her blood boil. She couldn't understand why Robin was pushing the idea that she likes someone who she has known for two days. Through sheer instincts she stood up from her bed and walked towards the door. Deep down Nami knew this was her chance to finally be able to see Naruto again and her heart raced with excitement.

Robin's smile grew as she heard the footsteps towards their door, but she had to maintain the act. She switched her position on the bed to look towards the door. "Hey I'm sorry, where are you going?" The raven haired women lied beautifully.

Nami stopped half way out the door. "I'm just going to get some fresh air, don't worry I'll be back soon."

With that, Nami gently closed the bedroom doors and began to her journey towards the guest bedroom. Robin laid her head on the soft pillow feeling rather proud of her self.

_Moments Later_

_'So there I was stranded in the middle of a deserted beach, not knowing where I was or how I ended up here. That's when I came to the conclusion that—'_

Knock Knock Knock

A sudden and unexpected knock on the door caused Naruto to flinch in shock and halt his reading. He looked away from the journal on the table and looked questionably at the door. _'It's so late I wonder who that could be.'_

"Come in." Naruto responded being too lazy to walk over and open the door. His curiosity to find the identity of this late night visitor increased as the door opened excruciatingly slow with a creaking sound. The first thing the blond saw was several strands of long wavy orange hair accompanied by a worried Nami. She pushed her head through the free space between the doors while hiding the rest of her behind it.

Naruto smiled as he realised Nami was the one at the door at this most unusual hour. Nami popped her head out to see Naruto on the right side of the room, he was sitting on a wooden chair by a work desk. She noticed that there was an open book on the table which meant that he must have been reading.

"Hey, is it alright for me to come in? I'm not disturbing something. Am I?"

"Nami it's you." Naruto replied happily with a smile while pushing himself off the table to stand. "No it's okay come on in." He gestured her to sit on the bed behind him.

She smiled weakly as she made her way towards the bed which was only a couple of feet away from the bed.

Naruto couldn't help but feel excited as Nami walks closer towards the bed. He silently gulped as soon as he noticed what she was wearing or the lack there of. She wore a single white buttoned shirt that left the top three buttons undone to expose her cleavage. The shirt was just long enough to cover pink hot pants creating the illusion the she wore nothing but that formal but seductive shirt.

Naruto mentally chuckled at how much he loves this girl's self-confidence. Nami's long, sexy, smooth legs caused the shinobi's mind to race with arousal and excitement_. 'Such confidence to walk into a man's room wearing... that' _He chuckled. _'But even I have to admit, it's pretty attractive'_

As soon as Nami sat on the edge of the right side of the bed, Naruto adjusted his chair to face her as well and sits down. She notices that his headband was placed right beside her; she picks it up to take a closer look at it.

Nami figured how rude it was to start playing with someone else possession, so she gave Naruto a peculiar look, one that asked for permission. The shinobi gave a small nod to as a response. By watching her face, the blond could instantly tell that something was bothering her.

_'A joke might be a good way to break the ice.'_

"So... don't tell me my superior charms have made you fall in love with me already that you'd surprise me with a midnight visit wearing, that." He joked nervously with a small smile.

"Whaatt!? It's not that kind of visit you idiot!" Nami shouted back with a bright red face holding the urge to hit him like she would anyone else.

Naruto laughed and scratched the back of his head. "Gomen, gomen. So if it's not that, then what can I do for you Miss Navigator?" The blond said with an intrigued smile.

Nami's momentary moment of happiness swiftly disappeared when she remembered the purpose of her visit. "Hey, why did you lie to us earlier?" The cat burglar whispered whilst avoiding eye contact.

The question shook Naruto to his core. It was so sudden and unexpected that he could not come up with a meaningful reply. "W-what are you-"

"I mean, if it was me, I wouldn't know what to do with myself if all of a sudden I lost my friends and family." Nami interrupted with sorrow filled words. Her eyes focused on her fingers which were tracing the lines of the leaf symbol.

The shinobi finally understood why Nami looked so conflicted. _'She's worried about me? She's_...'

"Nami, look at me." Naruto leaned in, lowered his head and grabbed her wrist to capture her attention. "I assure you, I'm okay." He pulled his best fake smile.

"Don't lie to me! There's no way you can be okay. This whole situation is not okay. You've, you've lost so much already and now you're..." Nami snapped back feeling her emotional capacity spill, she had enough of his macho bullshit, it was clear that he was hurting and she wanted to help him.

"Okay."

His voice was serious, a complete change from his last sentence. Nami's eyes shot open and her fists clenched. She noticed that Naruto's hand was still attached to her wrists and quickly felt guilty for enjoying the physical contact despite the circumstances. A ghostly silence quickly filled the room.

"I'm terrified!" Naruto deepened his stare into Nami's eyes. "I'm terrified that I'll never get to see my friends again." His voice was deep, slow and shaky. For a while the room felt like time had stopped, no one moved, no one made a noise. For a short moment, they were just two people in a room, holding each other.

"Naruto you –"

"But I have faith in my friends. I have faith that they'll do everything they can to bring me back." The blond interrupted with his cheerful and optimistic aura returning.

"And besides, I have you," He paused for a second. "Luffy and the rest of you guys looking after me. So that's why I'm not that worried." He smiled innocently which gave Nami the reassurance she needed to calm her uneasy heart.

The navigator quickly blushed at Naruto's intimate pouted and looked away. "Jeez, you're just like Luffy, overly trust worthy of complete strangers." She mumbled.

Naruto laughed at her comparison and had to admit he saw the resemblance. "Nevertheless, thank you for checking up on me, Nami." The blond gave her wrist a thankful squeeze and gently released his hold.

A wave of dissatisfaction hit Nami in the middle of her chest as soon as Naruto had broken off their physical connection. But the feeling was momentary as she noticed she missed something very important.

"Wait, does that mean you're—"

"Yes. I'm going to accept Luffy's offer and join his crew." Naruto answered quickly as if he was reading her mind. Excitement and happiness surged through Nami knowing she'll be able to spend more time with the blond shinobi. It took all of her will power to prevent herself from launching herself at him for a crushing embrace but she kept her composure.

"That's great! Luffy is going to be so happy when he hears this!" Nami squealed with over-excitement. "But wait, what made you change your mind? I mean you were so conflicted about joining earlier?"

Naruto turned around and reached for the open book on the desk and showed it to Nami. "Because I'm not as big of an idiot as people think." He half smiled "When Robin gave me this book earlier, I finally realised I could really be stuck here forever."

"What kind of book is it?"

"A journal"

"That journal?!" Nami remembered Robin's explanation of the dimension window.

"Yes, it explains exactly what had happened to me. Though, I still have hope that my friends can someday bring me back, I've accepted that I don't know when or if that day would ever come. So I guess I have to build a new life here." Naruto explained with sad acceptance.

"Well, that makes sense..."

"Aannnddd I guess you guys have helped me so much since I got here that I feel a little indebted, also I know I can trust you guys just as much as I can with my teammates." The blond spoke but Nami wasn't sure he was joking or not.

"That's unusual?" Nami replied.

"What is?"

"People don't really trust pirates that too often, so what makes you think you can trust us?"

"Ah right, you've said that pirates have a bad reputation in this world. Why, you ask?"

Nami nodded curiously.

"Because I know you're not evil. All of you."

Nami squinted. "What do you mean by that?"

"Kurama's chakra has the ability to sense if someone has evil intents and he told me that you guys are evil free." He gave her a thumbs up.

"What?! We are? We must be the worse pirates in the world." Nami laughed to herself in shame.

Naruto laughed alone but quickly spoke up once again. "But Nami, if I do join your crew, I have a condition that must be met." The conversation turned serious.

"W-what kind of condition?"

"I know Robin says it's pretty much impossible but... if I ever come across another dimension window, I'm going through it." Naruto explained confidently.

"Oh!" was all Nami would muster at Naruto's condition. She was ecstatic that he decided to join and stay with them but knowing that someday, no matter how small the chances, someday he could simply disappear from their lives made her feel extremely disappointed.

"That's um, not usually how joining a pirate crew works but... I'll talk to Luffy. Knowing how much he wants you to join he'll probably not care about the condition."

A weak and guilty smile grew Naruto's face. "Thanks, I'm sorry that I can't fully commit to this crew but I still want to fulfil my dream someday."

"Hokage right? You said earlier your dream was to become the Hokage of your village?"

"Yes. And regardless of all that's happened in the last two days, I will never give up on my dream."

Nami felt herself melt on the spot from the radiance of Naruto's determination to follow his dream. _'He has no idea but so much more much like Luffy than he thinks.'_ She happily thought to herself.

"Although you know, if you join this crew long enough, maybe my superior charming skills may make you fall in love with me and you'd not want to go back." Nami winked with an evil looking grin surprising herself that she said something flirtatious without consciously thinking about it.

Naruto's initial reaction was shock because he thought she was serious, but then remembered that he made the exact joke earlier. The blond made a mental note to remind himself how much he loved this girl's confidence. He gave a small sincere laugh at her flirty joke and decided to play along.

"Hmm that's an intriguing thought. I guess we'll just have to see how superior your charming skills are first." Naruto spoke crossing his arms rolling his eyes and shrugging away.

"Don't underestimate me ya know! I can make you head over heels for me anytime I want." Nami bluffed convincingly.

"Is that so?"

"Y-yeah." Flushed faced Nami looked away and pouted from embarrassment.

"You're funny Nami." He complimented teasingly with a small grin showing off his white teeth. A strange moment of silence dawned upon the two as they sat in front on each other with racing hearts from their 'innocent' flirting session.

A creeping feeling of disappointment was rushing in as Nami sensed that the conversation was coming to an end. For some unknown reason, she really didn't want to leave his room. She had a deep desire to keep the conversation alive.

She couldn't point a finger on it but somehow, talking to Naruto was like talking to another member of the crew. It felt like she has known him for years and there was this sense of comfort and ease when it they talked.

Naruto stared at the motionless Nami that looked incredibly shy as if she wanted to say something but couldn't find the strength to do so. "Is there anything else I can do for you while you're here?"

Nami mentally sighed in relieve as she was thankful he gave her a reason to stay a bit longer. "Well, um, since I can't sleep and you're not doing anything, you think you can tell me more stories?" Nami asked shyly resembling like a 10 year old girl.

"Huh? Like what kind of stories?"

"Oh I don't know like, personal experiences, the ins and outs of being a shinobi, anything and everything." Nami suggested warmly. Naruto chuckles at the idea of telling Nami everything's that ever happened to him.

"You know, if I were to tell you everything you could be here all night." Naruto joked with a frowned flirty eye brow.

_'I hope so.'_ Nami only smiled and giggled at his joke

"Okaaayyy, if you're that determined, I guess I have no choice. What's a good story? Ah! Well there was this one mission where I..." Naruto continued talking for several minutes to talk about some mission he had done in the past.

Nami was astonished by it all and laughed hysterically at his humorous tale. She watched him closely as he shared his story with such flare and compassion and couldn't help but feel an aura of serenity and peace that she only felt when with Luffy.

"...So yeah in the end, we just ended up having to eating the whole thing." Naruto chuckled at his own joke. Nami continued to laugh till her sides hurt. "That's so funny! I can't believe you had to do all that?"

"Yeahh, sometimes you can get weird missions like those." Their laughs slowly died down until there was a moment of silent in the room.

"I feel like I've been talking too much today. Why don't you tell me one of your stories? I mean if I'm going to join this crew I have to know everything you guys been through right?."

"Yeah, I guess that makes sense. Well, let's see..." Nami thought carefully about where to begin and what she should share. "When we first started at the Grand Line, it was only me, Luffy, Zoro, Sanji and Usopp..."

Nami continued with her stories for what seemed like forever, but the two were so concentrated and fascinated by the exchange of each other's stories that they hadn't noticed that it had been three hours since Nami first entered the room.

Purposefully, Naruto decided to avoid mentioning Sakura's and Sasuke's names in any of his stories in fear he may break down by the thought of his rejection and jealousy over Sasuke and ruin this perfect night with Nami. Despite being stuck in another universe, the wound from Sakura's betrayal was still fresh. At times where he had no choice but talk about them, he would always say 'teammates.'

Likewise, Nami noted to stay away from memories that could trigger Naruto to ask about her past. Her business with Arlong was still and would probably always be a sensitive topic that certifies tears. She didn't want him to see her crying and ruin this enjoyable session with Naruto. Laughing to Nami's latest story, Naruto wiped off the tear in his eyes and leaned back on his chair.

"Okay so, big whales, saving kingdoms, floating islands in the sky, starting war against the World Government, Water cities, Zombie island ships, Bubble place, two years apart, deep sea fish cities, fire and Ice Island and saving another kingdom called Dressrosa." Naruto spoke while counting his fingers.

Nami was taken aback for a second as she realised just how much she and the crew have gone through in together since met Luffy.

"Is there anything you guys haven't done?" He spoke with admiration.

"What? Why do you sound so amazed? After everything you told me my stories aren't even worth mentioning."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Oh I doubt that—"

"You've been on missions one could only dream of, fought off invasions, huge sand monsters, befriend it, saved your entire village from this guy called Pain and saved the world." Nami snapped back with amazement and disbelief while mimicking Naruto and counted with her fingers.

Naruto was fully surprised that Nami was able to remember everything he said throughout the three hours they spent talking. But he felt a sudden rush of shyness from hearing the impressed tone in her voice.

"Well when you put it like that... but I didn't do it alone, I always had baa-chan, Jiraiya-shishou, my senseis, friends and teammates and even my parents for a little while, So don't sound so impressed." He chuckled innocently.

"That's true" she replied smiling back to him. Despite the happy face and aura Nami was displaying deep down something was bothering her.

_'He has talked about his 'teammates' all the night long and so it's obvious they must be close friends so why hasn't even mentioned their names? Oh what the hell, what's the harm in asking.'_

"Hey, Naruto."

The jinchuuriki jerked minutely at the sudden change of tone. He gave Nami a questioning look that told her to continue. "You've talked about your teammates so much and I can tell they mean a great deal to you, but you haven't even told me their names yet, I don't know if you forgot or something but it's just weird ya know?"

"Ah—" The one topic he didn't want to explore but here he was.

"Um, earlier you said you wanted me to talk about my tattoo?"

"Yeah...?" Nami questioned wondering how and if this is related to her question.

"I got it after the war from the Raikage..."

Nami quickly noticed from Naruto's surprised face and sudden change of subject that she may have hit a nerve. _'Oh no, there must be a reason for him wanting to avoid talking about his teammates. I better not push any further I'm sure he would have told me if he wanted to.'_

"The Raikage's right hand man and the previous owner of this one of a kind tattoo, Darui died in battle." Naruto spared a moment to think about all those who have died in that dreadful war.

"I'm sorry" Nami whispered, she felt bad even though she had never met these people.

Naruto nodded. "After the final battle, the Raikage thanked me for saving his precious brother, my mentor Bee and the Shinobi forces. As a sign of gratitude and loyalty towards the peace treaty between the great 5 nations he gave this to me."

"Okayyy? But how does giving you a tattoo show gratitude and loyalty?" She quizzed and rightfully so.

Naruto chuckled inwardly as he realised that his explanation was pretty poor. "Nami, this tattoo is unique and one of the most precious treasures the Village Hidden in the Clouds has. It's actually not even a tattoo but a chakra mark, a lightning chakra mark." The navigator tried her best to suppress the shocked looked on her face.

"W-what's a lightning chakra mark?" Nami inquired nervously.

Naruto formed a smile from the corner of his mouth. "Well let's just say that you're not the only one who can create lightning." He said teased cheekily. Naruto raised his half clenched hand at eye level and began to emit streaks of black lightning that raged in his hand.

Nami nearly jumped off the bed as soon as she realised the black energy around Naruto's hands was indeed lightning.

"W-w-what?! How?!" The orange haired women asked anxiously while leaned away to gain as much distance as possible.

"Don't worry Nami, it's under my full control so you don't have to be scared."

Deciding to trust his word, Nami slowly leaned back forward to inspect the mysterious black streaks of energy. _'It definitely looks like lightning, but black? The way it sounds and even the way it feels, it's definitely lightning. So is the power of chakra he was talking about?'_

"Is this also chakra?"

Naruto nodded, impressed. "You're a fast learner" he teased "But yes, this tat- I mean chakra marker gives its user the ability to wield the one of the strongest lightning in the shinobi world."

"Are you serious?! Does it hurt?"

"No? Why would it hurt?"

She snapped. "Because you're holding lightning you idiot!"

The blond laughed hard and true for a short while. After his moment, he continued. "Well there you have it, the story of my tattoo. Now it's your turn."

"Oh o-okay." Nami looks to her left shoulder with mixed emotions. Although she's proud of the mark on her left shoulder, she never talks about since it has to bring back so many terrible memories of her past.

However, something within her told her that although they just met, she could trust Naruto. "I guess for you to fully understand, I would have to tell you about Arlong." Nami reluctantly explained.

"Who's Arlong?"

Nami paused for a second to prepare herself for the oncoming battle with her emotions.

"Arlong was a pirate and a fishman..."

Nami began to share her story of her childhood. First her encounters with a pirate named Arlong, then her mother and sister, the deal she made to free her island from Arlong, the struggles of stealing and running away from pirates, meeting Luffy and his crew, defeating Arlong and finally setting off to sea.

In the middle of her story, Naruto was shaking in anger and disbelief as he stares at this deceivingly fragile and soft young women and couldn't believe she was holding on to such a dark history. He swore to himself if he ever sees this Arlong that he would drive a kunai right through his heart. However, his anger began to simmer as soon as her mood lightened up from talking about how she met Luffy.

"So there you have it, tangerines and pinwheels." Nami spoke with relieve in her voice.

"Oh I see that now" Naruto claimed. "So where's Nojiko and your mother now?" he asked innocently.

Nami body flinched at the sound of the question she feared most. The last thing she wanted was for her to talk about Bellemere because when she did, it always ended in tears. She looked down on to her lap to avoid eye contact before she answered reluctantly.

"Nojiko's still at home looking after the tangerine farm and my mother..."

Her answer was so soft that Naruto could barely understand her. He felt a heart wrenching pain in his chest when he saw a single tear fall from her eyes to her lap. He quickly jumped off his chair and sat down beside her. Craning his head down in an attempt to gain her attention he spoke in his most apologetic voice.

"Hey why are you crying, if I said something to make you upset I'm sorry."

"No its not you, its Arlong."

"Arlong? What did he—"

"Killed my mother."

Narutos eyes nearly bulged out of their sockets as he finds the truth about her past. He wanted to be supportive but he couldn't shake the feeling of hate towards Arlong. "Nami, I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to bring back painful memories. But, why? You didn't have to tell me if you didn't want to."

Nami finally lifted her head up to look at Naruto, her eyes were a little sore and eyes still glistening from tears. "Because your one of us now, so I know I can trust you." She explained with a soft teary smile. She looked happy, genuinely happy. As if she had never told him about her dark past.

Naruto responded with a smile of relieve that she was normal again. "Jeez, look who's overly trusting now." He teased with a pout.

Nami giggled almost childishly at his joke, but her moment of delight was short lived due to an unexpected comment from the blond.

"You're amazing Nami, did you know that? Naruto spoke with seriousness and assurance. Nami instantly turned a few shades redder and jerked slightly away from him.

"Wh-what do you mean?" She asked trying not to sound overly flustered.

"I mean for you to live through all of that and be able to tell it to a stranger... you truly are amazing."

Namis blush deepened. "Oh come on, your childhood is worse and, you're not a stranger." She whispered.

It was now Naruto to blush a little from her unexpected comment. "Thanks" he replied back with the same whisper.

Nami gave him a warm smile and looked back down to the black headband in her hands. Her mind then cooked up a fun idea. She grabbed both ends of headwear and tied it around her forehead. "So? How do I look?" She asked him with an innocent wink.

Naruto was shocked at her choice of actions but really wanted to laugh at how ridiculous she looked.

"It suits you!" He lied. "But..." Naruto leaned and wrapped both of his arms around the back of her head. "It needs to be a little tigh—"

Naruto only just realised it but their faces were now centimetres away from one another, warm air brushing their lips as blue met brown and the next thing they knew they were locked and lost in the other's eyes with no explanation or clue to what was happening.

Their hearts raced and skin tingled as they tried to find an answer for this new development. Despite the sudden closeness, neither of them moved a single muscle. That was until Nami could have sworn she saw Naruto lean in a fraction of a centimetre towards her lips. All of a sudden she felt Naruto jerk backwards and retract his arms.

"Ah sorry." He looked away feeling rather embarrassed.

"It's okay" Nami claimed failing to mask the disappointment in her voice. For a short moment the room was brimming with an awkward silence that made the occupants extremely uncomfortable.

However, the silence was finally broken by a certain blond. "It's getting pretty late, huh. We should probably go to sleep."

"Yeah, you're right it's almost dawn." She slowly untied the headband on her forehead and offered it back to him.

Naruto stared at it for a second then at Nami. "It's okay you can borrow it for tonight, seems like you like playing with it"

"Oh okay thanks." Nami gave a real but awkward smile at him before she stood and walked toward the door. She opens it and takes a step forward but not before she turns around to get a last glimpse of Naruto.

"Well then, goodnight." She said with disappointment evident in her voice.

"Goodnight Nami." Naruto replied with an equal tone.

As soon as she closed Naruto's bedroom door, her body suddenly felt all the fatigue from the lack of sleep and hours of talking. She quietly leaned against the wooden door for a moment.

_'Oh god, I think Robin could be right'_

Shortly after her departure from Naruto's room, Nami found herself slowly opening her bedroom door and reminding herself to be quiet for her sleeping roommate. She got half way across the room until a sudden voice shook her to her core.

"How was the fresh air?" Robin questioned but was too tired to add a hint of tease.

Nami flinched and but remained silent, she held the headband with two hands and stared at it intensely.

"Robin, I think I'm in trouble..."

_Few hours later_

"Breakfast!"

Naruto slowly opened his eyes to find himself in the spacious sunlit guest bedroom. Sanji's breakfast call had woken him from one of the most relaxing sleeps he ever had. Could have been because of the late night talk he had with a certain orange haired women? Or the bed? He pushed himself off the king size bed and walked into the shower.

Naruto took one last look in the mirror before heading out of the room. As soon as he closed the door, he glanced down the hallway to find two ladies who had also just left their room.

"Hey Nami, Robin!" The blond said grabbing their attention and walked towards them. "Good morning Naruto-san, I hope your first night's sleep on our ship was a pleasant one." Robin asked with her soft smile.

"Morning Robin! Yes thank you, I think it was the best sleep I've ever had."

"I'm glad to hear that."

Nami remained quiet with a slight blush on her face feeling a little nervous around Naruto. "Good morning Nami, how are you feeling? Not too tired I hope." Nami eyes widen open from Naruto's innocent greeting.

She could feel Robin's teasing eyes glaring down on her but was too embarrassed to do anything about it. "Oh no, no, I'm fine. Thank you for asking." She replied back with her arms reached out in self-defence.

"That's great", Naruto replied.

Not wanting to be caught in the middle of their awkward silence, Robin swiftly found an excuse to leave. "Um, I'm going to get a cup of coffee so I'll see you guys in there." And with that she turned and headed for the kitchen. Naruto and Nami were left watching the raven haired women turn around the corner and away from their sights. All of a sudden they felt a huge weight lift of their shoulders and the atmosphere felt somewhat normal again.

"Oh right, I almost forgot. Here."

Nami reached around her back jean back pocket to pull out Narutos headband and reached it out for him. He slowly grabbed it and tied it around his forehead.

"Thanks."

He couldn't put a finger to it but their interactions felt somewhat different than it did only several hours ago. He felt slightly nervous and giddy and she wasn't any better. All of her confidence in her body language had disappeared and she seemed slightly shy.

"Hey are you okay? Are you sure you had enough sleep?" Naruto quizzed with a frowned eye brow

"Y-yes! Really I did don't worry." Nami lied and plastered her best fake smile. In truth, she barely had any sleep at all because as soon as she got back to her room, she and Robin had a late night talking session of their own. The memory quickly shook her shy mood and returned to her energetic self.

"Okay, but don't push yourself alright." He advised.

Nami smiled warmly as she sees the kind and considerate side of the blond. "I won't, hey! You really shouldn't be focusing on me. Don't you have an announcement to make?"

"Oh right! I almost forgot" Rubbing the back of his neck innocently. "But I am a little nervous though. Do you mind helping me out a little?"

"You single-handedly destroyed a pirate ship but this makes you nervous?" Naruto laughed weakly at the logic.

"Well I guess I'm just weird like that" He replied.

"Of course you are, dimension man. C'mon let me take you to Luffy and the rest to give them the good news." Nami joked and pull his arm toward the kitchen with a childish smile.

_Kitchen/Dining Room_

"Minna! Listen up! Someone has to make an announcement" Nami watched the rest of her crews faces which now was plastered with curiosity. She gestured Naruto who was standing next to her to step forward and take the lead. He felt embarrassed at how grand Nami made his announcement was but he did ask for her help.

"Morning minna! Luffy, if you still want me in your crew, I'll gladly accept and help you become the Pirate King."

Nami and Robin smiled away having known his big announcement already but the rest of the crew was a little stunned because never in a million years did they expect him to join. Luffy stood up from his seat and grew a face-splitting grin as he stretched out his right arm and placed it on Narutos left shoulder.

"Welcome to the Straw Hat Pirates, shishishishi."


	4. Return of an old face

Authors notes - **SmoK1ngP4pers here, **

Thanks to those that left a review, keeps me motivated to do more. speaking of more, here's the next chapter, I wasn't going to publish it till next week to see the response I get from the story. This is my first fanfic so I don't really know the if amounts of viewers/favs/follows are good but hey, I'll continue writing for those who like the story.

The reason why I'm publishing this chapter early is because I'm going back to my university soon so i'll be having less time to write, its a little longer than the first three chapters so consider it a thank you to those who read this story so far.

Hope you enjoy Chapter 4

The Straw Hats overwhelmed faces shifted to one of joy and acceptance. Despite not knowing him very long, Luffy trusted him and wanted him on his crew, the rest of the Straw Hat pirates valued their captain's judgement, especially in people, Brook is fine example of that. So instead of protesting, the crew smiled along with their captain and welcomed their new nakama with open arms.

"See I told you Luffy gets what he wants." Sanji said while setting all the food on the table.

"Well at least he is strong, unlike the other blond on this ship" Zoro stared directly at Sanji.

"You talking about me, you green headed bastard?!" As Zoro's and Sanji's verbal abuse played in the background, everyone else gathered around Naruto to welcome him to their crew.

Nami stood by and watched their smiling faces and was relieved at how quickly they accepted him as one of their own.

The navigator was reliving the conversation she had with her roommate several hours ago while unconsciously eating her breakfast surrounded by multiple on-going conversations that were inaudible to her.

_'Nami, you might like him, yes. You're being honest and that's good, but you and I both know that you only met two days ago, these feelings could be all physical and not true feelings. Just slow down for a second and get to know him better before you do anything. Remember he is from a completely different world and what he really needs now are stable friends that will help him through this transition.'_

She took another bite of her meal as Naruto and the rest returned back to their seats.

_'Robin is right. These things I'm feeling are probably only physical. I think I've been hanging around these idiots for too long.' _She sighed_. 'Besides, he is my nakama now and what he really needs are friends that will support him.'_

Naruto gazed above his plate and saw a distracted Nami who looked conflicted with whatever she was thinking. He gently taps her shin with the end of his sandals in an attempt to bring her back into the room. Nami jerked in her seat then shook her head. She looked across to see who it was that kicked her and what she found was a concerned blond who mouthed 'you okay?'

She simply smiled and nodded then continued with breakfast.

Luffy interrupted their silent conversation. "Hey Franky, after we eat why don't you show Naruto the rest of the ship?" He suggested with half chewed food in his mouth.

"Yeah that's a Super idea"

"I want to come!" Usopp and Chopper added.

"I would like to tag along too if you don't mind?" asked Robin who just stunned the room.

"Robin? That's not like you?" Nami asking the entire crews question. The archaeologist giggled "it's not every day you get a chance to meet someone from another universe."

_30 minutes later_

"You guys ready?" Franky asked.

"Yeah!" screamed Usopp and Chopper while Naruto and Robin finished their conversation about his shinobi life. Naruto sees Nami on the upper deck on the ship sun bathing in her multi coloured bikini and sun glasses. He had to swallow his saliva to remedy the dryness in his throat from the mere sight of her. He had to admit, she had one of the best figures he had ever seen.

"Nami! Come with us?" Naruto yelled across the ship.

She lowered her sunglasses and waved to the small group. "It's okay! Thanks for the invite though"

Honestly, she really did want to come along for the tour just so she could show herself in a bikini for him but that thought alone reminded her that she needed to be friendly not flirty.

"Oh okay." A disappointed blond replied.

The over excited cyborg punched the air. "Alright guys let's go!"

_Sunny's Head_

"Luffy! I need to speak to you." The Rubber man shots his head around to the new voice.

"Huh? Oh hey Nami what's up?"

She sits beside him on top of the Sunny's head gazing into the horizon. The two shared a calm relaxing moment of silence.

"So..." Nami interrupted that blissful silence. "Guess our crew just got a little bigger"

"Yeah it's great. I can't wait for our next adventure!" The captain exclaimed with a huge grin. Luffy looked at Nami and can see nothing but concern.

"Hey Nami, are you okay? You're not feeling sick again are you?" Luffy quizzed.

"What? No. It's just there's something important I need to talk to you about."

Something in her voice caused Luffy to frown and shift his position so that he was facing her legs crossed. Nami quickly noticed this and felt a new batch of anxiety flood in her.

"The thing is..." She looked down to her lap to avoid eye contact. "Well, Naruto earlier told me that he will only join if we accept one condition."

"Huh? What do you mean... condition?"

Nami took a long deep breath to prepare herself. It had been on her mind for hours but she really didn't know how her captain, who she has known for years, would react next.

"He said, he would join the crew under one condition, and that condition is that if there is any chance for him to go back to his world, he would."

Several moments of uncertain silence passed.

"Is that it?" He asked dryly.

Nami's eyes widened. "Well yeah? So you're not mad?!"

"No, why would I be mad?" He tilted his head out of confusion.

"Being a member of a pirate crew means that you're committed no matter what! You usually can't just decide to leave when you like it!" She protested.

"If it were anyone else then yeah probably I'd get mad but, he's special." He said with a serious face.

"Special? What do you mean by that?"

"Hmm how can I say this..." Luffy pinched his chinned and wondered intensely. "Ah I got it. If I got separated from you and the others..." He almost shivered from the thought. "I would do exactly what he is doing." His tone was solemn with intense.

Nami glared at Luffy in disbelief, she couldn't comprehend how mature, simple and obvious his answer was. She mentally slapped herself worrying about it too much. "Luffy..."

He gave her a contagious face splitting grin that eased her heart. "Now that that's settled..." Luffy faced the beautiful blue horizon. "How long till the next island?" He asked his navigator.

"Oh yeah, that's the other thing I came here to talk to you about." She peeked at her log pose watch. "This thing here is saying that we should be arriving at the next island sometime today, but we need to plan on what to do when we get there."

Luffy remained quiet but nodded in agreement, he stood up while Nami watched in questioning. He turned around and inhaled deeply.

"Minna! Come out here!"

_Main Deck_

The crew gathered on the main deck minutes after Luffy's call. Nami decided to address the group. "Alright everyone listen up, we should be arriving at the next island in several hours and we need a plan on who's getting what as soon as we get there."

The crew nodded then Nami continued. "Due to unfortunate circumstances that happened at the Last Island thanks to our idiot captain, we are severely lacking essentials. So, as soon as we dock at the next island Sanji and Brook, you guys are in charge of stocking up our fridge for two weeks' worth of food, we don't know how long till we get to the next island so better be prepared. Chopper, medical supplies, Usopp, help Franky carry any equipment he needs for repairs on the ship and don't forget about the cola. Luffy, since Naruto is new to this, why don't you show him around the island and please avoid getting into trouble. Most importantly, Zoro, guard the ship and don't sleep on the job!"

The crew members nodded in acknowledgement of their assigned duties all except Zoro who gritted his teeth from Nami's hurtful but truthful joke.

The swordsman glared Nami and Robin down. "And what are you two gonna do once we get there?" Zoro asked lividly.

"We..." Nami linked Robin's arms with hers. "Are going shopping of course!"

_7 hours later_

A mysterious man staring down a pair of binoculars was watching the wide ocean horizon. '_Jeez, why do I always get stuck with patrol duty?'_ He sighed heavily.

He continues his search further until he saw dot on the far horizon. He zoomed the sight on his binoculars to figure out what he saw was a ship. His eyes widened as soon as he saw the infamous Jolly Roger attached to said ship.

_'That's the Straw Hat Pirates! Ohh, the boss is so gonna reward me when I tell him that they are here.'_ The mysterious man smirked then fled to an unknown location.

_10 minutes later_

The Mugiwara pirates had finally arrived at their destination. All crew members except Zoro had left the ship and began walking towards the city a stone throw away.

"Alright guys you know what to do, we meet back here in two hours."

"Yeah yeah can we go now, Nami. Me and Naruto are gonna find something to eat, apparently he loves ramen just as much as I love meat." Luffy said grinning.

"I find that hard to believe." Nami replied sceptically. "Just remember two hours, we gotta start preparing for the party."

Naruto twitched. "Um, there's gonna be a party? What's the occasion?"

Everyone present fix their attention at the blond with a small smile. "You of course!" They said in unison.

Naruto eyes threaten to drop a tear but willed himself not to. He couldn't believe how inviting and friendly his new crew members are despite only knowing him for three days.

"You guys, I'm flattered but you don't have to do this." Naruto protested, embarrassed.

Sanji placed a reassuring hand on Naruto's shoulder. "Don't worry about it, and anyways we're pirates, we try to find any excuse to party and drink."

"Yup. And besides, it has been a while since I showed these boys how to drink." Nami smiled smugly then grabbed Robin's arm who was giggling at the men's mortified faces.

"Well Robin and I are going to do a little shopping now, later." and with that the two ladies were off.

Naruto was still confused over Nami's drinking comment and from the look of everyone's faces, he had to ask. "Can a small girl like Nami out drink you guys?" He asked doing his best to cover the chuckles in his question.

Usopp answered. "You have no idea."

_1 Hour Later_

After an hour's worth of exploration of his new environment, Naruto had begun to fully accept his new life and role as a straw hat member. Luffy was telling him stories of their past adventures in between food shops. He heard it all before but it was interesting to hear it from the man who did all of the main fighting; and from what he has been told from Luffy's past battles, he couldn't wait till he can get a piece of the action.

Peace was maintained on all elemental nations and smaller countries after the Fourth Great Ninja War, which was great and all but that also meant a huge cut in A to S class missions. This left Naruto with no one to push him to the limit, sure there was Sasuke, but that guy couldn't lift a finger without the Anbu reaching for their swords. So sparing with him was out of the question. Therefore, Naruto used all of this free time to do one thing and one thing only, Train.

If there's one thing that's constant throughout the shinobi world is its unpredictability. Naruto wasn't as clueless as people thought him to be. He was more than aware that at any moment conflict between nations is possible at a drop of a dime. So he vowed to himself that if that unfortunate day ever comes, he'd be more than ready to protect his village. Combining his mass shadow clones training style with the fact that he didn't need to worry about the nine tail's chakra causing a rampage, Naruto trained relentlessly to master new powerful ninjutsu and fighting styles.

However, he wouldn't show his crew members any of that until the opportunity presents itself. Besides, he loved the look of shock on their faces when they see something they thought should be impossible.

_1 hour 45 minutes later/Thousand Sunny_

"Geez, Nami was the one who demanded everyone to meet back on the ship in two hours but she's the one who's late." Usopp complained.

"Everyone's been waiting for 45 minutes now but they still haven't come back. I wonder if they're alright." Chopper added his two cent.

Zoro slowly stood up from the floor. "That's it! I'm going to find them I need to stretch my legs anyway."

"Alright but that means someone will have to go and find you later as well." Sanji replied dryly.

The swordsman pretended not to hear that because he truly wanted to walk his dead legs off. He continued to walk across the deck until he heard Usopp shout.

"Hey guys look its Robin!"

_5 minutes later_

Robin had climbed up the ship and greeted everyone with a concerned look. "Hey Robin, what's wrong and why are you so late and... where's Nami?" Luffy asked worryingly, he didn't like the expression on her face.

The rest of the crew were about to add their opinions in but her expression silenced them.

"I... I." Robin stammered. "I think Nami has been kidnapped, I'm so sorry Luffy."

Silence fell on the pirate ship as 8 shaken figures tried to process Robin's words.

Wide eyed, clenched fist Luffy broke that silence. "What do you mean she's been kidnapped? You were with her the whole time how did this happen?!"

Robin lowered her head in shame. "We were. But an hour after we left the ship Nami said she needed to use the restroom but she never came back. When I checked to see if she was alright but she wasn't there." Robin continued. "From the very beginning, I had the suspicion that someone was following us but I thought it was just me being paranoid. I guess I was wrong I'm so sorry captain, I've looked for her for nearly 2 hours but she was nowhere to be found."

The captain did his best to remain calm and think of their next course of action, but he was failing. Images of the horrible things that could be happening to his navigator at this very moment was haunting him and no one hurts one of his nakama and gets away with it, he vowed to himself that whoever did this won't live to see tomorrow.

"Do you think it's the Marines?" Usopp quizzed.

Robin shook her head. "Very unlikely, if it were the Marines then I'm sure they would have gone for me and not Nami. It must be other pirates or bounty hunters"

Brook spoke. "Robin-san is right, we need to find Nami-san before they sail her away from the island."

"That won't happen." Everyone's questioning eyes shifted to Sanji. "Whoever they are, they saw Nami-san and Robin-chan together but only targeted Nami, don't you guys find that strange? Everyone contemplated in silence.

Sanji took the silence as a sign to continue. "It means they only ever needed one of them, they purposely let Robin-chan go so she could inform us that Nami is missing which will drag us out to the city to find her. In other words, they are using Nami to lure us in then take us out."

Zoro grunted "Some people these days have some nerve to think they can kill us just like that."

"Don't forget swordsman-san, our crews bounty exceeds 800,000,000 beli, pirates and especially bounty hunters would do anything to get their hands on that type of money." Robin replied.

Luffy had enough, he wanted payback. "Everyone let's bring Nami back and kick the guys ass who's responsible for this." The rest of the pirates shared their captain's expression and all nodded then began to walk, all except one.

"Wait!"

8 figures turned instantly to face the voice.

"What is it Naruto-san we don't have much time. Nami-san is in danger." Brook questions slightly confused.

"I know that but you are all forgetting one crucial thing." Naruto replied.

Sanji exhaled smoke out of his lungs. "And what's that?"

"Robin said she searched for Nami for nearly two hours but still failed to do so, that means we have no clue where she is and who is dumb enough to take her hostage." Naruto paused to see if they understood where he was going with this but all he saw were blank faces.

"So wouldn't it be easier to know EXACTLY where she is first before advancing rather than splitting up in groups and search aimlessly, which will not only reduce each groups' survival and mission success rate but would also be time consuming."

Naruto mentally cursed himself for sounding too much like a jounin captain. He was a pirate now. He had to learn to adjust.

Luffy spoke. "Yeah of course it would but there's no way to know exactly where she is?"

Naruto smirked. "And that's where I come in." He graceful shifted into the lotus position and carried on with the proceedings.

The pirates stared intensely as Naruto sat motionless, completely oblivious of what he was doing and how this is going to help find Nami. One minute later everyone including Robin was left stunned as the colour around Naruto's eyelids turned orange and his eye colour were now yellow with a black horizontal line for pupils.

"W-what h-happened to your eyes?" Usopp stammered.

Picking himself back up to his feet, Naruto answered. "The difference in my eyes shows that I have just entered sage mode."

Luffy, Usopp and Chopper cried out how cool it looks until Choppers medical curiosity caused him to step forward to examine. "What is it and what does it do?" the reindeer asked.

"You can say it's a type of transformation. A transformation that grants me special abilities that can be used to find Nami." Naruto said optimistically.

"Sugoi!" Luffy praised. "With this sage mode thingy we'll find Nami in no time! Wait, but how?"

Naruto sighed knowing it's going to be a long explanation. "Sage mode uses nature energy, the natural energy that surrounds us every day, its invisible to the naked eye but it's still there. I can gather that energy and use its power." Naruto continued. "And one of the many special abilities that I was talking about allows me to sense and identify others chakra from great distances."

"That's amazing!" Robin said. "But I thought you said people from this dimension don't possess chakra?" Robin asked incredulously.

Naruto nodded. "That is true but, every living being has their individual life force which contains nature energy. Don't forget humans are just as much a part of nature as trees or the air itself.

"So does that mean we are all born with nature energy?" The chopper asked.

"Yes, you can even determine how strong someone is depending on how much life force they possess. However it's impossible for someone to use or even sense nature energy without Sage training, no matter how powerful they are." Naruto answered.

Usopps brow twitched. "Uhh guys did you forget we have to find and rescue a member of our crew? So can we leave the chit chat till later?!"

"Ahh gomen." Naruto chuckled awkwardly while rubbing the back of his head. "Let's go find Miss Navigator."

The sage walked to the side of the ship to gain a better view of the city, he closed his eyes and began to focus on Nami's life force signature. However the rest gave each other questioning looks, all wondering about Naruto's new nickname for Nami.

A couple of minutes of silent tension followed as everyone watched Naruto focusing to locate their kidnapped crew member. Out of the blue, Naruto twitched then turned to face the highly anxious pirates. "I found her" he said with half a smile.

"That's awesome! Then let's go rescue her!" An over excited Luffy yelled.

"Wait" Naruto requested. "You should know she's being held North-West of the city in an empty warehouse. From what I can tell she's guarded by at least 30 men who all looked like they were expecting us. The guard's life force didn't feel powerful enough to be a threat, all except one."

"Hmm, only 29 weaklings, huh? Guess we won't need everyone to save her after all" Zoro said confidently with a smirk.

"True, but better not underestimate these guys. The one that concerns me is the one standing next to Nami. His life force signature is insane. He might put up a good fight." Naruto said worryingly.

"Perhaps he is a devil fruit user which could be the reason his life force is so strong?" Robin added.

Naruto snapped his fingers. "That must be it, Baka baka baka. I just noticed that there's a huge difference in life force signatures between devil fruit users and non-devil fruit users. Anyway, we need to be careful with this person. I can tell they're going to be a problem."

Luffy understood and but he was ready to go, grabbing both Zoro's and Naruto's shoulders. "The three of us are going to take care of this." The shinobi and swordsman nodded.

"Ahem"

"What is it Sanji?" Luffy asked his cook.

Sanji glared his captain down. "Did you forget about us? What are we gonna do when you three are out having all the fun?"

Luffy grinned. "You guys get the party ready. We'll be back soon." The rest of the Straw Hats returned their captains smile, knowing full well that that smile told them everything was going to be alright.

_20 minutes later at The Abandoned Warehouse._

"Are you sure this is the place?" Zoro asked while taking in his new surroundings.

Naruto, no longer in sage mode kept a straight face. "I'm sure."

"I can feel them, they're here." Luffy added.

With that, the three straw hat pirates pushed the giant iron door to enter the gigantic empty warehouse. Emotions ran high as soon as they caught glimpse of what was inside. 29 men all armed to the teeth stood with a smug look on their faces. In the far back, they saw Nami but what made their blood boil was seeing her tightly tied up to a chair with a piece of cloth in her mouth sitting next to...

"Enel!" Luffy stood mouth wide open upon seeing his old enemy.

Zoro immediately drew his swords and took fighting stance. He knew exactly how dangerous this guy was and he wasn't going to take any chances. "What the hell are you doing here? I thought we kicked your ass already."

Enel, leaning on Nami's chair wearing his exact same attire since their previous encounter spoke. "So we meet again, monkeys of the blue sea."

Luffy, now twitching with rage. "Let Nami go or I will beat you twice as hard as I did in Skypiea!"

The orange haired captive fidgeted on her chair while mumbling something incoherent.

The lightning man laughed out hard. "Why would I do that? You insolent fools must learn what happens to those who chose to defy God."

Zoro sucked his teeth. "Yeah whatever, what we want to know is what you're doing here of all places?"

Enel straightened up his posture. "World domination of course." He said nonchalantly. "That one puny island was not fit for a God. My plan would always remain the same-To rule this world and run it as I see fit. I will show this entire planet my power and bring fear in the hearts of every single human who heeds my name."

Luffy spoke. "You still think yourself as a God even after I wiped the floor with you? Whatever, how did you find us?"

Enel clenched his fist. Memories of him being beaten by Luffy were making him lose his cool.

"Pure coincidence. I had no intentions of finding you or your crew post the events at Skypiea. I have been using this island as my stronghold for the time being to prepare for my greater goal." Enel continued. "However, when one of my men said he saw you entering the island earlier, I knew it was time for you to pay for your crimes against me."

Naruto was watching carefully at the heated conversation between his crew mates and Nami's captor, Enel. He thought the name was familiar but couldn't place a finger on it till he heard Skypiea. His eyes widened as the memories from his chat with Nami resurfaced. He remembered her story of an Island in the sky ruled by a psychopath who thought himself a God and did all those unforgivable things to the citizens of Skypiea.

"So you're Enel." Naruto interrupted.

Enel shifted his attention to the figure he didn't recognise. "And who might you be?"

"I'm the newest member of Luffy's crew, and from what I've been told you're quite the monster. You see, Nami told me about you and your powers and how scared she was of you."

Somehow, a furious Nami spat the cloth that was stuffed in her mouth. "Don't tell him that you idiot and get me out of here!" She screamed.

Naruto laughed fearlessly, "Don't worry! We'll deal with him and his little friends in no time. This guy doesn't stand a chance against us. I mean look at him, what's up with his ears, right?" Naruto joked, psychologically attacking Enel. Nami suppressed a chuckle in fear of the man standing next to her.

Naruto continued. "I bet he is not even worth our time. He should just let us go and mind his own busin-"

A shot a lightning aimed at Naruto's chest cut his sentence short. He smiled knowing he pissed his opponent off and was about to counter Enel's attack, but he was stopped in his tracks when Luffy step forward and took the hit. Naruto questioned why his captain would choose to get hit than dodge.

Zoro and Naruto watched Luffy's standing body, but emitting dark smoke off his body.

The swordsman smirked. "Luffy's made from rubber, lightning wont effect h- Luffy!"

"Luffy!" Nami cried out.

Both men went into shock as they watched their captain drop to his knees and screamed in pain. They rushed to him as fast as they could.

Zoro was now more confused than angry at Enel. "Hey what's wrong with you?! I thought you said his powers won't affect you!" Naruto and Zoro anxiously watched Luffy struggle to get back to his feet.

"Th-that bastard, he's using Busoshoku Haki in his attack. That's why his lightning can cause damage." Luffy said while straightening up his clothes.

The 29 grinning men took slow, small steps towards the pirates while Enel laughed victoriously.

Enel grinned "Did you honestly believe that I would not be stronger since our previous battle? This blue sea has showed me many things. As years passed, I have gained new powers called Haki and it shall be the instrument of your death, rubber boy."

Luffy huffed. "Like that's gonna matter I'm still going to beat the shit out of you!"

Zoro looked sceptical. "Are you sure about this Luffy? This isn't the same as Skypiea, if you get hit by his attack again that could be it."

Before the captain could reply Naruto interrupted. "Luffy, if you don't mind I would like to fight this guy." He said with confidence.

Luffy twitched. "What!? No way I'm the captain so I have to sav-"

"Go for it" Zoro cut in.

"What are you talking about Zoro?!"

"Look into his eyes, he wants to save Nami just as much as we do and besides, I think we both would like to see what he has got."

Luffy childishly mumbled something incoherent. He thought about the situation carefully. Yes, he no longer had the devil fruit advantage over Enel so the risk of death was now higher. However, he was the captain and thus responsible for his crew's safety. But at the end of the day as long as Nami was safe and Enel had been defeated, who cares who fought who, and besides Zoro was right, Luffy did want to see the extent of his new nakama's power.

Reluctantly Luffy replied. "Alright fine, me and Zoro will take out these guys and get Nami back. Naruto will deal with Enel."

The blond smirked. "Thank you, captain. I'd advice you two take these guys out fast because I have a feeling this is going to be a good show."

"Just don't hold back." Zoro replied with an 'I have to see it to believe it' look.

"Oh I wasn't planning to."

With that said, Zoro and Luffy ran in opposite directions of the huge room to divide the enemy in half while creating space for Naruto's and Enel's fight. Without wasting anytime, the captain and the first mate of the straw hat pirates began to confront Enel's followers. Flesh being torn, punches and kicks to body parts, screams of agony, techniques being named was now the soundtrack of the warehouse.

Naruto wasn't focusing too much on that though as he stared down his opponent with killing intent.

"So you really believe you can kill a divine being, boy?" Enel mocked.

Naruto gritted his teeth. "You kidnapped my friend and hurt my captain. I don't care if you are divine, I'm still gonna kill you!" He shifted into his fighting stance.

Nami's eyes widened. This stranger that fell out of the sky three days ago was now risking his life for people he called nakama for several hours. Seeing Naruto adapting to his new life so well, she couldn't help but feel happy for him.

"Empty threats from a foolish mortal, but I need not worry about you or your nonsense." With a smug look, Enel closed his eyes and folded his arms. "Other than your captain, no one here can even touch me let alone dream of defeating me in batt-"

Enel's words came to a sudden stop when he felt a small sensation of something he had not felt in a long time, pain. He rubbed his cheeks only to feel tear drops of blood that should not, could not have been there. He turned around to see what caused the damage to his face and saw a peculiar small star shaped metal object several meters behind him.

"Impossible! That puny object should not have touched me, I am all powerful! What did you do?! Enel pointed at the blond.

Naruto carried a victorious smile. "Just testing out a theory. To be honest, I wasn't sure if it was going to work, but look at that." He stared into Enels eyes. "Luffy already told me earlier about you logia type devil fruit users and this one power a person must have in order to defeat logia types, Haki was it? When Luffy finished explaining what Haki was and what it could do, I thought it sounded a little similar to chakra."

Enel furrowed his brow. "Chakra?"

Naruto ignored him and continued. "An internal energy from within that can be developed and used as someone's arsenal. That's when I came up with my theory that, if Haki and Chakra had similar qualities maybe Chakra can be used against logia type devil fruit users too. When you were so full yourself to lower your guard, it gave me the perfect opportunity to see if my speculations were true, what struck you was a Chakra infused shuriken."

Enel gritted his teeth.

"And as you can see Enel, I can touch you and I will kill you." Naruto stated.

Enel clenched his fists. _'I don't know what he is or what power he has, but if I'm not careful it could be disastrous.'_ He quickly pointed one of his palms towards Naruto and fired another shot of lightning.

Naruto watched the attack as if it was in slow motion then shunshined away at the very last second.

_'He is fast'_ Enel thought. It took him mere seconds to recover from the shock of Naruto's speed. Naruto, now several meters away from his previous position had a smug look on his face. It didn't last for long however as Enel began to shoot lightning bolt after lightning bolt but Naruto kept dodging them with ease.

The remaining Straw Hat members couldn't help but be extremely impressed by Naruto's speed and evasive skills. 'Sugoi!' Luffy thought as he retracted his arm from the following punch.

On the other side the room, Zoro had just sliced another one of Enel's followers. 'He's nearly as fast as Luffy when he is on Gear Second. I wonder if that's all he has got.'

Sitting on her chair with the best seat in the house to watch the fight, Nami stared wide eyed. 'Wow, he is so fast that I can barely keep up with his speed.'

Another minute passed and Enel had finally stopped his rapid fire of lightning bolts leaving dozens and dozens of small craters on the walls and floors. Naruto shunshined back to his original spot then began to perform several stretching exercises.

"Wooo thanks for that. I haven't trained since I got here and it can take a while for me to warm up sometimes." Naruto grinned.

Enel frowned only slightly. _'So he hasn't been serious with me all this time. This little fool, I'll show him what happens when you mock God.'_

The lightning man didn't even have the decency to give Naruto a reply. Enel merely extended his right arm and summoned lightning into his palm which, slowly extended and transformed into a golden trident. "Prepare to die."

Naruto's grin changed into one of absolute seriousness. Just by studying Enels tone and body language, he knew the real fight was about to begin. _'I guess I have no choice but to use that' _Naruto suddenly formed a hand sign and whispered_ 'Release.'_

A poof of smoke around Naruto's left wrist cleared to reveal something like a wrist band with a seal marks on the bottom. As soon as Naruto placed his right hand underneath the seal mark, a standard issue Anbu katana came into existence. This katana however was nothing but standard, it was custom made given to Naruto from one of his sensei, Uzuki Yuugao, for mastering the Leaf villages sword style. The main difference between Naruto's blade and that of an Anbus was that Naruto's had a black handle with orange ray skin down the side.

The 20 year old blond gripped his sword hard before meeting Enels predatory eyes. "Let's go."

Both men charged at one another at blinding speeds, shocking one another at how much faster their opponent was when serious. Steel met steel as Enel, who had the longer weapon went on the offensive. Naruto had no choice but to dodge or block the trident with his sword. Enels jabs were incredibly fast that it was near impossible to find an opening to counter. When Naruto did find an opportunity to land a strike, Enel was already prepared to block or would have reappeared somewhere else.

_'Shit, I'm getting nowhere like this, Luffy and Nami mentioned that he could see my attacks before I even make it, but this is just stupid. Even the sharingan can only trace my movements and then predict my attack. It's like this guy is reading my mind. Oh well, that only means I have to hit him faster than he can react to my attack.'_

Naruto shunshined away to create distance to further evaluates his opponent's strengths and weaknesses, but as soon as he thought he was safe, Enels trident was already travelling towards his heart. Instinctually, Naruto blocked the weapon then shunshined again but to a much further area this time. It didn't matter, a second after arriving at his new location he was greeted with electrical sparks that manifested into Enel.

Dodge after dodge, block after block, shunshin after shunshin, it didn't matter because the results were all the same. But that was until Enel patience ran low and he charged his weapon with lightning to overpower Naruto's sword creating a huge opening. God Enel sent a bone crushing kick to the side of Naruto's head which sent him crashing on the wall.

The other Straw Hats' eyes widened and immediately shifted to the new hole on the wall. Enel stopped the onslaught to watch as rubble covered Naruto slowly stands back up and dusts himself off.

"Ha, is this all the power you possess? You dare mock me with such weak skills you pathetic blue sea monkey!"

Naruto turned around to face his opponent but much to Enel's surprise, Naruto wore a small sadistic smile on his face. The smile looked misplaced considering the position he was in but seconds later that smile turned into full blown out laughter!

Enel almost dropped his weapon from being too confused at what he was seeing. What the hell is wrong with him and why was he laughing like he hadn't been sent flying against a concrete wall.

Nami, strapped in her seat also couldn't help but wonder. 'What in the world? Why he- He is out of his mind is isn't he! I mean look at him, he is rolling on the floor laughing when he is fighting someone who's made and controls lightning! Oh god, don't tell me he is crazier than Luffy.' Nami shock her head denial.

"Oi you idiot! What is so funny over there?!" She screamed.

Naruto picked himself back up to his feet still but chuckling, he wiped the tears from the back of his hand then gripped his sword. "Oh sorry Nami it's just that its... it's... it's been so long since I fought someone this strong and I guess I just got carried away!" he laughed childishly.

Nami dropped her head low _'Yup, I knew it. He is crazier than Luffy. Sigh'_

"Enough!" Heads turned to Enel.

"You should enjoy your final moment of joy because it certainly will be your last, now die!" Enel was moments away to charge at the blond but what he suddenly saw left him completely immobilised.

Naruto had summoned black lightning all across his body, from head to toe to sword. The rubble beneath him began to defy gravity and hover but only to be disintegrated into ash as soon as it came near the lightning and to top it all off, Naruto had the most menacing look in his eyes that showed he was all business.

"Wha- B-but... but that is impossible! That's-"

"Black Lightning" Naruto finished.

Zoro and Luffy had finished off their final opponent just in time to witness one of Naruto's most powerful techniques. Luffy now had stars in his eyes and on the verge of crying at how cool it looked. Zoro on the other hand was much more collected, on the outside that is. 'Holy shit, am I really seeing black lightning?! What the hell is he? Hah, he is just a bag full of surprises.'

Enel quickly overcame the shock but was now blind with anger. "How?! Only I, God Enel should be the only one to control lightning?! How are you doing this?"

Naruto smirked. "You're right about one thing, you should be the only one to be able to control lightning in this world." He continued. "I come from another world where things work much differently than here, but enough about that, you hurt Miss Navigator and my Captain, I'm gonna make sure you regret it. But first, why don't we find out which world has the stronger lightning"

Nami couldn't suppress a blush as she decided that she liked his nick name for her.

Both men locked into one another's eyes while increasing the level of lightning output channelling throughout their bodies. The ground began to shake as both lightning users were engulfed in their own power while replacing the current soundtrack of warehouse to millions of chirping birds.

Luffy and Zoro watched in awe as Naruto's black lightning was matching the size and intensity of the lightning man's power.

"Luffy! We need to get Nami out of here!" Zoro yelled from across the room.

"Yeah I know I got it!" Luffy being closer than the two, ran up to Nami and swiftly untied her from her chair. He scanned her to see if she was injured, satisfied that she looked relatively healthy, he spoke. "Come on let's get you out of here it's not safe."

"But what about Naruto?! We can't let him deal with Enel alone!" Nami protested.

Luffy grabbed her hands and began to sprint to the exit being careful to not trip over the dead or unconscious bodies lying around the floor. "I and Zoro will help him once you're safe. Don't worry about Naruto. He looks like he can take care of himself."

Nami nodded reluctantly.

Naruto never took his eyes off Enel, but thanks to his peripheral vision, he could pick out two figures one with a red vest and the other with long orange hair running towards the exit. 'Good, now that she's safe I don't need to worry about holding back.'

Zoro had caught up to the rest of his crew mates at the main exit far away from the main battle. They all stood by the giant steel doors all patiently waiting to see who would make the first move.

Nami stared at her captain and crew member as is if they grew a second head. "What are you two still doing here?! Luffy, I thought you said you and Zoro were going to help him."

Luffy laughed apologetically. "Aha well you see Nami-"

"It's his fight." Zoro cut in.

"What do you mean it's his fight? You're his crew mate and captain. You should be helping him with his fight not stand here like a couple idiots!"

Zoro twitched. "He asked for this Nami. He was the one who wanted to fight Enel on his own so we could save you. If we step in now we will only be insulting his honour."

Nami lowered her head in shame and felt immediately guilty for even speaking in the first place. Men and their honour.

With his heightening senses and shinobi training, Naruto heard every single word of their conversation and couldn't help but grin. He took one hand of his sword and raised a thumbs up in the air.

Zoro and Luffy smiled. "See?"

Nami's eyes widened at the sight but then grew a soft warm smile as she knew like with Luffy's ear to ear grin, this was Naruto's way of saying everything's going to be alright.

He placed his hand back on to his sword and gripped it hard. "This is it, Enel."

The lightning God shifted into his fighting stance._ 'This insolent peasant has insulted me far too many times. Not only does he mock me with petty words but he even copied my powers as well. He shall now see what happens when you defy God.'_

A heart beat later both men disappeared from sight leaving only small creators on where they once stood. Sparks flew at all directions as the two lightning coated weapons made contact. Both men instantly sense the difference in power since their last bout. Naruto savagely swung his sword in a right to left downward strike but only to be blocked by Enels trident that was currently on the defensive.

Naruto kept the distanced between him and Enel as close as possible to ensure his safety from Enel's range. But the lightning man high intellect in combat quickly took note of Naruto's fighting plan. Enel blocked the swords horizontal that would have cut him in half then he countered with a strike to Naruto's head which connected with air.

Enel vanished only reappearing a second later 20 meters in front of Naruto. Satisfied with his distance, Enel charged at the blond at mesmerizing speed, when he was in range, Enel fired rapid jabs at Naruto who was finding it difficult to counter the deadly tip of Enel's trident. Naruto blocked, swayed, ducked, side stepped, back-flipped, everything he could do to avoid the fatal blows.

He noticed that Enel's next strike was aiming towards his left leg so Naruto pumped his feet with chakra and swiftly back flipped high into the air to dodge and to create distance for a counter attack. Enel smiled victoriously when he saw the blond high up in the air. _'Time to die.'_

Enel pointed his trident directly at the falling Naruto while increasing the lightning within the weapon. Naruto's gasped as he knew he was in trouble, he knew he was going to have to counter another lightning strike, and from the look of his trident it was going to be a massive one. Naruto drew his sword back and added more lightning chakra into his weapon.

Enel launched his attack a fraction of a second faster as his lightning speared towards Naruto. The blond on the other hand had just finished charging his sword with enough lightning chakra to counter Enel's. "Lightning Style - Lightning Fang!" Naruto swung his sword downwards with tremendous force. All the black lightning in his sword had turned into a dark slash of chakra.

Blue clashed with black as both forces fought for dominance but to result only in the birth of a blinding white light and quickly followed by an ear bursting explosion. Naruto and Enel being so close to the epicentre were caught in the explosion and were sent crashing to opposing walls.

"Naruto!" Nami watched the whole spectacle and saw Naruto smashing into the warehouse wall for the second time today. She took a step into his direction but much to her dislike, Zoro placed a firm hand on her shoulder.

"He is going to be alright Nami. As you can see, he isn't some weakling that can't take care of himself. Have more faith in him and your Nakama." Zoro said calmly then removed his hand from her shoulder.

Nami relaxed her tense body then nodded in acknowledgement but still believed that they should be doing something to help. Luffy remained quiet and observed the hole and dust cloud where his new Nakama crashed with a neutral expression. _'He's going to win, I just know it.'_

A minute later both 'God' and newly pirate slowly shrugged the concrete debris and dust of themselves. No longer in their lightning covered forms, Naruto and Enel stared each other down with killing intent to make Nami's skin crawl. Both men looked fatigued covered in cuts and bruises from the explosion.

Enel swiped the final cluster of dust off his arm. "I am beginning to grow bored of this battle. Let us finish this once and for all so that everyone can witness the greatness of my power."

Enel began to engulf his body in lightning over twice that of the size of his previous form. "You are no match for me! Nothing can stand against me... because I am God!

Naruto, too focused to even reply to the delusional man whom sees himself as 'God' concentrated on moulding as much black lightning chakra as he could. By judging the size and raw power of Enels new form, he knew that this was going to be the final decisive move. Naruto grabbed his sword and took a deep breath. As soon as he exhaled his entire figure was covered with raging black lightning equal in size of Enel's.

Both lightning users continued to increase their power outage to the point of maximum capacity. The sheer overwhelming power coming from both massive figures of lightning was enough to cause to earth benefit them to shake like an earthquake, the concrete walls and floors threaten to fall apart as visible cracks began to appear from the intense pressure.

The three Straw Hat audience unconsciously took several steps in the opposite direction. The mass electricity in the air caused the hair on their arms and the back of their necks to stand.

"This is your end Straw Hat pirate! Feel the wrath of God!" Enel pointed his palm at Naruto's direction who had both palms aimed at Enel.

"One Hundred Million Volt Vari!"

"Lightning Style - Double Kuropansa!"

The two deadly lightning attack hit dead on as one tries to overpower the other. The lightning users remained in their stances and continued to feed the attack. An infinite number of sparks of black and blue flickered from where the two lightnings met. If it wasn't a battle to the death, one may even describe it as a beautiful firework display.

Naruto and Enel screamed furiously as they pump as much power they could into one final push. The last surged of power roared in the air as their attacks grew and grew in size. The eyes of the Straw Hat pirates widened as the attacks built up to preposterous levels.

The immense power of both lightning attacks roared till it eventually became unstable. A second explosion that miniaturizes the first shocked the foundation of the warehouse. Raging winds of dust blew everything at every direction with great force. Even the Straw Hat pirates had to use their arms to avoid the dust in their eyes.

A few moments passed and a thick cloud of dust was all that remained visible on the battlefield. It took a while for the dust cloud to settle so that Naruto and Enel to could finally see their opponent. Once the warriors saw their target was visible, they charged at one another with all the speed they could gather from their fatigued legs.

The familiar ring of two metallic objects vibrated in the air. The three pirates standing by could only hear where the sound originated as the cloud dust was too thick to see through.

A choking Nami spoke. "W-what *cough* happened?"

"The one standing behind that cloud of dust is winner, who it is however, we'll have to wait and see." Zoro said anxiously.

It took another few moments before the dust settled enough to recognise two clear figures. However, what the pirates saw left all of them wide eyed in horror.

Naruto was on the other end Enel's trident. Blood dripped down from his stomach where the weapon had pierced him, he had one hand on the golden shaft while the other could barely hold on to his sword. Naruto coughed loudly as he splashed a large volume of blood on to the ground.

Nami dropped a tear. "Naruto!"

Luffy was completely speechless but blind with anger.

Zoro grabbed the hilt of his swords. _'Shit, this is bad, we're going to have to take Enel down fast so that we can get Naruto to Chopper.'_

On the other end of the room Enel had a biggest smirk on his face.

"Straw Hats! Observe! This is your inevitable fate since the day you decided to cross an almighty being." Enel laughed victoriously. "Now you all know that you can't stop me, no one in the entire world can stop me, FOR I AM G-"

*POOF*

Enels eyes widened. "What on-"

"Rasengan!"

A third and final explosion shook the crumbling warehouse. Enel struggled to comprehend what just happened. First, the body impaled on his trident had suddenly disappeared out of existence. Secondly, he heard his opponent's voice who he thought to be dead from above, he looked up only to see a blue spherical object inches away. Now, every muscle on his body felt as if it was on fire, he could barely move due to the excruciating pain originating on his back.

Enel, now eating dirty found the strength to turn his head to catch a glimpse of his opponent. Naruto stood over him with his sword placed above his back directly where his heart would be.

"F-fool, you think *cough* you defeated *cough* me." Enel stammered, splashing blood with every cough.

"Accept defeat 'God' Enel." Naruto said mockingly. "I told you earlier, you were going to regret kidnapping Nami and hurting our captain, this is me living up to my nindo." Naruto raised his sword. "Time to visit the other side."

"Wait! *cough* W-what and *cough* who are you?*

Naruto raised an eye brow. "So even an 'almighty God' would want to know the name of the one who defeated them. I guess I have no choice since it's the honourable thing to do." Naruto glared Enel in the eyes. "My name is Naruto Uzumaki Namikaze, former shinobi of the Hidden Leaf Village, now a member of the Straw Hat Pirates. Farewell Almighty God Enel."

Naruto swung his sword to pierce Enel's heart, killing him instantly. Seconds later he withdrew his sword from the deceased lightning man's back, swung it to side to remove the blood from the blade and then positioned it under his left wrist to place it back into the seal.

The blond then made his way towards his captain and crew members who remained where they stood by the giant doors. As soon as he was close enough to see their stunned and confused faces, Naruto couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

"So, did you guys like the show?" Naruto asked with his big smile.

Luffy rubbed the back of his head. "U-mm w-what umm...?"

"Just..." Nami continued.

"Happened? Weren't you just killed? How are you alive?" Zoro finished.

Naruto just loves seeing the reaction they get when they see ninjutsu.

"Aha, well, in the middle of all that dust cloud, Enel and I couldn't see each other for a while, that gave me the time for one of my shadow clones to take my place and for the real me to hide my presence up on the roof. What you saw being stabbed was just a clone."

Nami remained sceptical. "What? That still doesn't make sense, what do you mean clone?"

Luffy and Zoro nodded in agreement.

"Hai Hai gomen, I forgot I haven't shown it to you guys yet." Naruto performed his signature hand sign. "Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." A poof of smoke signalled the arrival of a second Naruto.

Naruto used his forearm to lean against the clone. "This is what I meant by clone." Patting his clone on his chest. "Don't be rude, say hello."

The cloned smiled then waved. "What's up guys?"

Needless to say the three pirates stared in awe as they watched the second Naruto.

Luffy rushed to the clone and began to inspect him like a child playing with a brand new toy. "Sugoi! It can move and talk and everything! It feels so real!"

"Of course it's real, a shadow clone is a complete copy of the jutsu user." Naruto informed.

"That's amazing Naruto! It must be pretty handy too?" Nami quizzed.

Naruto laughed dryly. "You have no idea. But forget about that, how are you feeling? You're not hurt are you?"

Nami smiled reassuringly. "I'm perfectly fine. Don't worry, I just want to say thank you for saving me back there." Nami's smile turned to one of gratitude.

Naruto quickly blushed and was taken aback from Nami's smile. "Ah, it-it's alright r-really don't have to worry about it."

Zoro on the other hand sucked his teeth. "We helped out too you know."

Nami sighed. "Hai Hai, Zoro, Luffy, you have my thanks. Happy now?"

"Whatever, let's just get back to the others before they start to worry." Zoro grunted then turned to walk.

Nami pinched the bridge of her nose. "Zoro the ship is the other way." The swordsman jerked and then changed his direction.

Naruto laughed at his new crewmates antics. Much to Luffy's dislike, Naruto dispelled the jutsu then took a few steps to follow Nami and Zoro while Luffy was behind.

It was quiet for a second till suddenly Naruto's shinobi senses kicked in, he place his right hand under the wrist seal and threw the kunai up into the leaves of a nearby tree.

This caused everyone else to stop with questioning looks as they gaze upon the tree on where the kunai was thrown. Seconds later, a squirrel with a kunai embedded in its stomach fell from one of the trees branches and dropped dead on to the floor.

Nami switched her attention from the squirrel to Naruto. "And what did that poor little squirrel ever did to you?" She joked.

Naruto still had his eyes fixated on the general direction of the squirrel. "I thought I just- nah I'm just imagining things, it was nothing."

Luffy and Zoro shrugged while Nami walked closer to Naruto. She folded her arms while inspecting every inch from him head to toe.

"See something you like?" Naruto asked smugly with a wink.

Nami instantly blushed several shades of red before shaking her head furiously. "Idiot, I was just wondering how you have all these cuts and gashes on your clothes but from what I can see, your no longer bleeding or in any pain?"

Naruto played with his clothes. "Oh, it's because of Kurama's chakra. It allows me to heal extremely fast, did I forget to mention?

"Oh I see, so that's why Chopper's assessments of your recovery were a few days off. And yes you are forgetful." Nami pouted playfully.

Naruto laughed nervously. "Aha gomen."

"Oh well; anyway, we can't have you walking around in those torn out clothes." Nami shifted her sights to her captain. "Luffy, you and Zoro go ahead and tell everyone that I'm fine and we'll be back a little later. I'm going to help Naruto pick out some new clothes."

"Eeehhh?!" The three male pirates spoke in unison.

Nami pointed at Naruto. "There's no way I can let you go to your own party looking like that."

She then pointed at Zoro and Luffy. "And you two, what's your problem?"

Luffy spoke "You only want to 'help Naruto pick out some new clothes' because you want to do some shopping yourself!"

Zoro nodded in agreement.

Nami twitched. "Well of course! I didn't get a chance to buy anything before one of Enel's guys kidnapped me. Why are you two complaining anyway? Or is it that you want to come along and help me shop?" Nami teased in a low evil voice.

Luffy and Zoro shivered as the memories of their last shopping trip with Nami resurfaced.

"Good luck, Naruto!" Yelled the straw hat captain and his first mate as they sprinted towards the ship.

Nami turned to Naruto with a beaming smile. "Ready to go?"

After seeing Luffy's and Zoro's reaction, Naruto was now scared of what could happen when you shop with Nami but he would never show her that.

Struggling to maintain a straight face, Naruto spoke nervously "Uh yeah sure."

The two drifted off to begin their little adventure called shopping.

Unknowing to them, a mysterious man hiding behind a tree wearing a black cloak sighed in relief. _'Thank god that they're gone. I was sure I was a goner for a second. I still can't believe that blond almost sensed me, what the hell is he? Never mind that now, I got to get his picture back to Marine HQ, the world needs to know that the infamous Straw Hat Pirates have recruited another member, a member powerful enough to defeat 'God' Enel. I must hurry.'_

_1 hour later._

Naruto groaned in irritation. "This is the hundredth store we've been to in the last forty five minutes, there were some okay ones in that last shop why couldn't we get those?" he asked while Nami examine a shirt.

Nami shook her head as she continued to her search. "Men, why do you always do this? Complain and then pick 'okay' clothes. If we're going to spend my, ahh, I mean our money you got to buy something you love."

Naruto narrowed his eyes playfully. "So you really do love money." He said dryly.

Nami's eyes shifted into beli signs. "Of course!" she screamed excitedly.

Naruto smiled sympathetically then took a look around at his surroundings. This store was much larger than the previous ones they visited or more accurately, Nami dragged him to. He studied the faces of the men and women of this new dimension and couldn't help but think, apart from the obvious difference between the lives of pirates and shinobi, everything else was pretty much the same- the food, the buildings, the irritation of shopping, the concept of time and date and many other minor details.

As he was lost deep within his thoughts, his eyes had unconsciously been scanning the men around him. Much to his confusion, some were gawking at him with eyes of jealousy or anger, or both? The other half of the male population, which were a lot in this store, had set their focus on the curvy orange haired navigator who was never afraid of showing some skin. Naruto could see them smirking and even wolf whistling to themselves. Nami, of course was oblivious of their actions as she was too busy on her favourite hobby.

Naruto softly grabbed Nami on her shoulder then leaned in to whisper. "You're quite popular with the guys around here." he teased.

Nami gasped at the sudden closeness of proximity to make her nearly drop the clothes she was holding. "Hey, don't sneak up on me like that and what are you talking abou-" Nami cut her sentence short as she looked up and saw a large handful of men quickly turn their heads away from her direction. As a woman, she knew that they were obviously staring.

Nami sighed before she spotted something from the corner of her eye. Most of the women in the store had been or were going fan-girl over her blond nakama. She couldn't help but feel slightly irritated at them for being so obvious, but she couldn't blame them either, Naruto's black vest was ripped in several areas. So not only were his arms exposed but also those well-defined abdominals. His orange trousers were also showing some legs as there were some important parts missing. Seriously, the two of them were a walking strip tease.

Nami decided to play Naruto's game. "You're the one to talk, ." She said in a slightly irritated tone rather than a teasing one, but thank God, Naruto didn't notice.

The blond blushed. "W-what are you-?" He looked up to inspect the females in his immediate area but their reactions differed greatly from when Nami searched for her fan club.

Most of the women were staring seductively, while some where biting their bottom lip. Those in small groups were whispering to another followed by a tiny giggle.

Naruto sighed in defeat and hung his head low. This came as a surprise to Nami, usually most guys aka Sanji would love this much attention from a handful of beautiful women and would have been more than happy to take advantage of the situation, but Naruto seemed annoyed or even disappointed by it. _'So this is what Sasuke-teme had to deal with every single day.'_

Nami raised a concerned eye brow. "What's wrong, Naruto?"

The blond lifted his head up but avoided the eyes of the thirsty women. "I just can't believe I have to deal with this here too."

"Deal with what?"

"Back in Konoha, a lot of girls acted exactly the same way these women are right now and it annoyed the hell out of me." Naruto continued. "They think they like me because of my looks and the fact that my father was the Yondaime Hokage. How can anyone like someone just for their looks or heritage? How would you know if that person really only likes you for what you are and not who you are?"

Nami was speechless, she had never met a guy her age talking about relationships so maturely before. It not only increased her respect for him but she now saw Naruto in a different light, he had something her other male crew members didn't have. Naruto knew exactly what he wanted out of relationships- a deep, meaningful one, not those superficial one night stands.

This got Nami thinking. From the moment she saw him, she couldn't deny the feelings of a physical attraction towards the blond, and even now those feelings were present. But now she saw that she was everything that Naruto hated, girls with superficial feelings for him without truly knowing who he was. Or was she?

Last night he told her most of his likes and dislikes, his old life as a shinobi, his childhood, heritage and apart from his 'teammates' the people who were close to him. And to top it off, she had also shared most of her personal life with him as well. Isn't that enough?

Nami's mind was in turmoil. Although she promised Robin to be a good, stable friend for Naruto to help him adjust to this new world, but after seeing him risk his life for her and now knowing how mature he was about relationships, she was so close to breaking that promise.

"Umm, Nami? Are you alright, you've spaced out for a while now." He questioned.

Nami instantly blushed then shook the thoughts out of her mind. "I'm sorry Naruto I was just... never mind."

The blond remained sceptical but shrugged it off. "Okaayyy, do you mind if we go to another store? I don't think I can survive another second with these women staring."

Nami scanned her surroundings once again and she became more pissed as some of the women were still going fan- girl over him. She saw a small group of girls probably a year or two younger than her and Naruto slowly approaching in their direction.

"Oh no, they're coming, Nami let's get the hell out of here." Naruto said then grabbed her hand to head for the exit.

She pulled back to stop Naruto from running away.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

She turned her head back to him but she looked slightly embarrassed. "I know a way to get them to stop looking. But what I'm about to do is just a friend helping out another friend okay? I don't do this to everyone so please don't over think about it and just go along alright?

Naruto had no idea what she's talking about. "Uhh sure, anything to get them to stop looking at me."

Naruto looked deep within Nami's eyes and saw that she was nervous but slightly excited too.

_'This is it, just helping out a friend right? oh who am I kidding, sorry Robin - oh God look at those beautiful blue eyes.'_

Naruto's 'beautiful' eyes widened as without warning, Nami wrapped her arms over his shoulders to bring his face closer to hers. She smashed her lips with his, she grabbed a handful of his golden hair while her other hand laid on his neck.

It took a few moments for Naruto overcome the shock of what Nami was doing, but the sensation of her soft lips caressing his own was enough to stop any words of protest. He quickly returned the kiss as he gripped one hand on her waist while the other stroked her cheek, savouring the taste of her strawberry lip gloss and the fresh smell of her long orange hair.

They unconsciously pulled on each other's bodies against one another to heighten the blissful sensation. The kiss deepened as Naruto used his tongue to caress Nami's bottom lip to ask permission to enter. A lustful moan escaped Nami's mouth as she granted his tongue the permission to explore her own. Their hold on one another tightened as their wet tongues intertwined with one another in perfect sync never wanting to let the other go.

Their bodies became unbearably hot, they lost all their inhibitions and lost themselves in the kiss, not caring where they were or who was watching.

Unfortunately, the prolonged duration and intensity of the kiss forced the two to separate to refill their lungs with air. Naruto and Nami held their grip on to each other as her brown eyes were locked onto his blue orbs. Their breaths were long and deep. Naruto observed her beautiful face hoping to find an answer for had just happened. It's not like he didn't enjoy it, because he truly did, but that kiss was far too intense to be just a friend helping out another friend right? Or it could be Nami was just a good kisser.

Nami was the first to break eye contact, she checked to see the looks of the faces of the lustful women after Naruto. Some of them had already disappeared while the others look greatly disappointed. She giggled to herself as she heard one of them say 'Jeez, get a room.'

Satisfied that his new fan club was now gone, she turned and smiled at Naruto.

"See I told you I can get them to stop, Ohh that looks nice!" Nami unwrapped herself out of Naruto then skipped away to another section of the store.

Naruto watched her playful self-skip away and couldn't help but chuckle. He may have looked calm and happy on the outside but deep down he was truly bewildered. He couldn't tell if it was that kiss or something else but he knew that when he sees Nami, something feels different, something real but indescribable.

Up to this point, Naruto had truly only seen her as a friend, granted he may have flirted once or twice with her but he thought nothing of it but harmless flirting. Could these be real feelings he's developing for Nami? He wasn't entirely sure. The pain from Sakura's rejection still ran deep and blinded him with anger and jealousy.

Now hundreds of questions sprung to his mind. _'Are these feelings for Nami just a way to get back at Sakura? Are these feelings real? If they are, would she even accept them? Does Nami even like me that way?'_

Naruto shook his head. _'Get a hold of yourself. Now's not the time to be thinking about this. We haven't known each other for long anyway. I shouldn't do anything for now, not until I'm certain these feelings are for Nami and Nami alone- but what I would do for another one of her kisses.'_

Naruto's lewd fantasies were cut short as he heard Nami call for him.

"Naruto! Come here and try these out." she said while lifting several bits of clothes above her head.

"Hai Hai." the blond dropped his head low. '_Here we go again_.'

_20 minutes later_

Naruto checked himself out in the mirror in one of the stores changing rooms. He had been trying several outfits that he and Nami found not too long ago. Although he didn't care for fashion very much, he had to give Nami credit for picking out clothes that suited well and made him look pretty good.

He liked all the clothes and outfits he tried on but the one he's wearing now was no doubt his favourite. The trousers and were black and longer than his signature orange ones, the sandals reached up below the knees similar to ones of a standard issue Anbu wore. His shirt was a fitted black sleeveless shirt with a zip down the middle that stopped between his chest leaving the collar of the shirt wide open. Lastly, over the shirt was a long coat similar to the one his father wore however, this one was black and also sleeveless allowing him to display his tattoo that he's incredibly proud off..

Giving a final glance of his new attire, Naruto stepped out to show Nami.

"So, what do you think?" He asked nervously.

Nami's eyes rounded and almost dropped the newspaper she was reading. "Wow it looks great on you!"

Naruto blushed. "aha you really think so?"

"I do, but there's something missing?" She pinched her chin while scrutinising his outfit.

"Oh?"

"Yeah, it needs a little something that says 'NARUTO'."

The blond chuckled. "I think I know exactly what you mean, I'll take these off and get the rest of the clothes we picked out, which are great by the way, and you think you can pay for them then bring this outfit back here then wait outside?"

"Yeah sure I can do that for you."

Five minutes had passed since Nami returned the clothes to Naruto. Now she was patiently waiting outside the store. Hearing the shop door close, she immediately turned around hoping it was Naruto. A huge smile grew on her face as it was in fact the blond in his newly edited attire.

His longer sandals now had bandages wrapped around each shin, his right thigh also wrapped in bandages with his kunai holster. He kept his wrist seal visible and the final addition was the sword he used to defeat Enel was now on strapped on his back, sheathed inside its black with nine thin orange diagonal lines designed scabbard.

"Now that says 'Naruto.'" Nami happily stated.

The 20 year old blond smiled back. "Thanks, it's just a few minor touches."

Nami stepped up and handed the bags of clothes back to Naruto. "Alright! Now that your shopping is finished, we can finally get back to mine." She squealed in excitement.

Naruto sighed. _'Oh right, I forgot I have to help her with her shopping. It can't be as bad as Luffy and Zoro make it out to be, can it?'_

_2 hours later/ Thousand Sunny._

An exhausted looking Naruto carrying over twenty bags of shopping watched as an overexcited Nami jumped up and hugged her raven haired best friend. The rest of the crew standing next to them smiled happily.

Robin's smiled in relief as she wrapped her arms around the navigator. "Thank God you're alright Nami. I'm so sorry that I couldn't stop them from taking you, I don't know what I'd do to myself if I knew I was responsible for something had happened to you."

Nami unwrapped herself out of her roommate. "Please don't blame yourself Robin. It isn't your fault and besides thanks to those guys I'm completely fine." Nami placed a bright smile.

Robin nodded then wiped the single tear with the back of her hand. She fixed her sights on the newly dressed blond who looked like he was two minutes away from collapsing. "I hope our Nami wasn't too cruel to you in your little shopping trip, Naruto-san." Robin giggled while Nami pouted childishly.

"She-she took me everywhere, the walking, the waiting, the carrying, and the abuse, honestly I'm exhausted." Naruto dropped the bags then his shoulders.

Luffy exploded in laughter. "He looks more tired now than he did after his fight with Enel."

Zoro smirked. "At least he now knows to never shop with Nami." The whole crew except a complaining Nami laughed at loud.

As soon as the laughter died down, Sanji spoke unusually serious. "So is it true? Did you kill Enel on your own?"

Naruto snapped into attention. "Yeah." he said dryly.

Sanji's, Usopp's, Robin's and Chopper's jaws hit the floor. Just remembering Enel's power was frightening enough, but to fight it and win was something only Luffy could do. They stared at their new nakama in awe and wondered if he could be as strong as or maybe even stronger than their captain. There was still much to learn about this Naruto.

Brook and Franky couldn't fully comprehend what it truly means to defeat a powerhouse such as Enel because they did not witness his devastating power in Skypiea. What they do know is what Luffy and Zoro told them as soon as they got back, despite not knowing who Enel was, the trio was impressed regardless. Taking down a Logia type devil user was no easy feat.

"That's amazing!" Robin stated.

Usopp spoke up. "Tell me about it, I mean at first when Luffy and Zoro said you took him down by yourself it was a little hard to believe but now I'm a believer."

Naruto couldn't take any more of the praises, he started to blush. "Awh come on guys it was nothing really, I'd rather take 100 Enels rather than another shopping trip with Nami anytime."

The pirates shared a heart-warming laugh and even Nami giggled a little.

"Minna! Now that everyone's here let's eat!" Luffy screamed as he punched the air.

With that being said, let the party commence.

A/N - I know I may have twisted the whole chakra, and haki logic but I really did want Enel as Narutos first fight to test his black lightning, but I know if it was Enel, Luffy would have had to be the one to fight him. Anyways Thanks for reading!


	5. An Eventful Night

Sorry that this chapter took a while, Uni has taken so much of my time.

Little Lemon in this chapter

Chapter 5

Alcohol; on some days it's your best friend, on other days it can be your worst enemy. The key that opens the jail called emotions. It will make you do stuff you'd never think you'd do, say things you never thought you would say, sometimes that fact can be a blessing, other times, it can lead to the biggest regret of your life.

_Thousand Sunny/ Evening_

Several hours into Naruto's welcoming party, the night was young, the cheers were loud but the voices of laughter were louder. As soon as everyone finished their meals, the pirates did what pirates did best, drink alcohol like there's no tomorrow.

The Straw Hats sang, danced, and laughed harder than they had ever done before all thanks to the influence of an especially strong sake Sanji bought for this occasion. Naruto for one was having the time of his life, the atmosphere was joyful, the company was great and it felt like home away from home. Everyone was greatly impressed at how well Naruto could hold his alcohol. He told them that he had to drink a large amount of alcohol in order to get drunk because if not, Kurama's chakra would heal his liver before he could even feel the effects of the special drink.

There was an eerie silence as Zoro and Nami accidently bumped shoulders. They both glared each other down in their intoxicated state. "Z-Zoro, what are you looking at?" Nami squinted.

The swordsman returned the squint. "You know _exactly_ what I want navigator!"

The remaining pirates on the deck on the ship watched silently as Zoro and Nami stared each other down. Naruto was completely clueless, he didn't know if he should be worried or copy what everyone else was doing.

Nami laughed mockingly. "Fine, be prepared to be, to be beaten by a girl, Zoro-chan." She said as she poked his nose.

Zoro erupted in rage. "Chairs, Barrel, NOW!" He yelled to no one and everyone.

Naruto stood next to a disappointed sniper. "Hey Usopp, what's- what's going on with Zoro and Nami."

Usopp sighed. "They do this all the time, I think it's umm 4, 5, 6? 6! Yes, 5-6 to Nami."

"5-6 to Nami on what?" The blond asked as he watched Franky placing a large barrel in the middle of the deck, Sanji running out of the kitchen with 6 pint glasses each with a can of beer in them and Brook laying down two chairs on each side of the barrel facing one another.

"Drinking contest." Usopp smiled. "Come over you'll see what I'm talking about."

Luffy, Chopper, Robin, Usopp and Naruto shortly joined the rest of the crew in the middle of the deck. Nami and Zoro sat on their chairs never taking their eyes off each other as their Nakama encircle them. Sanji laid three pint glasses in front of each participant then filled them to the brim with beer.

Sanji took a long pull on his cigarette then exhaled. "Alright you two, you know the rules, the first person to drink all three pint glasses wins, and you're not allowed to distract the other during the contest. You may begin at my mark, you ready?"

Zoro smirked. "You ain't gonna win this time Navigator."

Nami rolled her eyes while grabbing the handle of a pint glass. "Whatever you say Zoro-chan, but how are you gonna feel when our new member here-." She pointed behind her with her thumb. "Losses all respect for when he sees you being beaten by a tiny weenie girl."

Zoro gritted his teeth. "You little..."

Sanji became impatient. "On your marks, get set, GO!"

Screams of encouragement for both sides erupted on the ship.

"Come on Zoro! Don't let the guys down!" Usopp screamed.

"You can do it Nami-swaannn!"

"You got this Nami!" Robin yelled, when Robin participates in silly games like these, you know whatever she's drinking is strong.

"Go Zoro-san!" said Brook.

Both participants slammed their empty pint glasses on the barrel followed by synchronised "Ahhhhh." Nami eyed Zoro once again. "You ready to go again Zoro-chan?"

The green haired man grabbed his second pint. "Don't get ahead of yourself, the contest has just begun." Zoro and Nami quickly backed their second pint.

Luffy got within inches of Zoro's face. "Come on Zoroooo, is that all you got?! I thought all you do is drink all day? You're not gonna let her beat you again are you?" Zoro flipped the bird to his captain which Luffy could only laugh at.

The rubber man then turned his attention to Nami. He crouched down to get eye level. "Let's go Nami! You know he hasn't got anything on you, I believe in you, come on!"

Nami's eye brow twitch before she smacked him on the head with her free hand.

"Go, go, go, go, go!" was now chanted by the rest of the crew. Moments later Nami and Zoro smashed their second glasses on the table, followed by a huge cheer from the audience. This was it, the final pint, the winning pint. Although both felt full and uncontrollably dizzy, their pride was on the line. The drinkers quickly backed their final pint glass.

"Last one let's go let's go let's go!"

"Come on Zorroo!"

"You can do it Nami-swaaann!"

"Shishishishi!"

Nami peeked across the barrel to see that Zoro was past the half-way point but was struggling to keep up with his rhythm. That's when she realised it, now was the make or break point. She summoned as much strength and concentration she could into 4 huge gulps. _'Shit, he's almost done, just one more...'_

*Bang* *Bang*

Two distinct noises, one coming after the other indicating a winner.

Nami grew a large grin on her face, one even Luffy would be proud of as she heard Zoro's glass land on the barrel after hers. She jumped up into the air and squealed in victory. Naruto, Robin, Luffy and Sanji immediately cheered for her win while Usopp, Chopper, Franky and Brook hung their heads low in disappointment.

"I guess that's 7-5 to me Zoro. Challenge me anytime. I'll be more than happy to beat you again." Nami stuck her tongue out to mock the swordsman.

Zoro stood up and walked over to his disillusioned audience. "Hai Hai, congratulations, don't worry guys, I'll win next time."

"Yosh! Now that's done lets continue this party till sunrise! Brook music! Sanji more drinks! I'm going to be the Pirate King!" Luffy screamed for the entire world to hear while his nakama chuckled at their captain.

_2 Hours later_

The Straw Hat party had died down, it was reaching 1am and the alcohol alone was no longer adequate to keep the pirates warm from the early morning breeze of March. Some members had retrieved their coats from their rooms while others basked in the cool night air. The pirates were spread all across the ship, Usopp and Chopper where on the main deck playing while Nami was leaning on the wooden side bars of the ship. Robin was with Zoro in the crow's nest, since she said she wanted to check on him to make sure he didn't fall asleep on duty. Sanji was accompanied by Franky, Naruto and Brook in the kitchen while no one seemed to know where Luffy was.

Nami was all alone watching the tiny bright lights in the sky, feeling thankful to finally be able to get some peace and quiet after such a hectic day, and what a day it was. One would think being kidnapped by a madman would be the highlight of anyone's day but not Nami's.

She softly caressed her cheek with one hand and grazed her lips with her fingers on the other as she reminisced on her fiery kiss with Naruto. She hadn't had the time to think what that kiss meant to her or think about what Naruto must be thinking about it too. All she knew was that she enjoyed every single second of it.

She let her eyes shut as she tried to envision every sensation she felt in that small moment of bliss, his lips gently massaging hers while their tongues danced beautifully, the softness of his golden hair in her hand, the urgency she felt as she grabbed his body closer to hers and his smooth hands on her waist, it was all so extremely pleasurable.

_'Wait, What am I doing, I'm supposed to be his friend but every time I see him I just can't help myself, I know these feelings I have are no longer physical, he's smart, funny, caring, understanding, mature and overall just fun to be around. But we've known each other for half a week, there's no way he'll take me serious if I told him I like him. Oh god, I said it, I like him. It can't be helped, anyways, he'll probably think I'm another one of those superficial fan girls he hates so much, what am I gonna do-' _

"Hey"

Nami squealed in shock as she was so rudely interrupted in her thoughts, her heart pounded harder as she noticed the figure next to her who appeared out of nowhere.

"N-n-Naruto!"

"That's my name" he smiled; the rays of the moonlight hit his face at just the right angle to magnify his smile.

_'So cute.'_ Nami thought to herself.

"I thought I told you not to sneak up on me" She pouted cutely. The party may have died down and she was no longer was drunk out of her mind but the effects of the sake were still present. She felt a little unbalanced but thanks to the wooden railing, she maintained her posture, her vision wasn't perfect but adequate, but most importantly she felt confident, playful and full of energy.

"Ahah, I'm sorry again." Naruto lied, he shunshined on purpose to see the surprised look on Nami's face. "Are you okay? What are you doing here all by yourself?" He asked genuinely concerned.

"Aww…ain't you a cutie? Thanks for being so concerned for me, but I'm alright, just thinking" Nami smiled and thought about his lips.

Naruto smirked. "Oh Yeah! What could you possibly be thinking about to be able to put that huge smile on your face mmm?" He said sarcastically as he pinched his chin and pretended to think. Nami started to blush but then looked away.

"Well you did get kidnapped by 'God'. So I don't think that's it. So what else did you do today?" The blond raised an eyebrow "Or should I say, what _we_ did today" he teased.

Naruto couldn't believe he said something so personal and without even thinking about it. _'Damn that sake must have hit me good, she's probably gonna smack me any second now.' _

Nami's reddened face slowly turned back to Naruto's direction.

_'Okay prepare yourself, here it comes.' _

She looked into his eyes and sighed.

_'Ahh shit, get the ice packs ready.' _

"Yes." Nami said calmly.

"Huh?"

"I said yes okay! I was thinking about our kiss earlier so can you stop with the teasing please? " Nami leaned on the wooden side rails to face the oceans. "Besides, I bet I'm not the only one who's thinking about it." She said playfully but completely serious.

Naruto took a few moments to overcome his shock, and then he closed the distance between them and leaned against the rails also.

"You're right, it was a phenomenal kiss." Naruto stated.

Nami nodded and made a small noise of acknowledgement.

The blond took his eyes off the ocean and into her big brown eyes. "What did you like about it?" He questioned boldly without showing signs of playfulness.

Nami thought about her answer hard. "I guess I liked your-"

A strong breeze of freezing cold air rattled the ship cutting Nami's answer short. The breeze quickly subsided but left Nami with chattering teeth and Goosebumps all over her exposed skin.

Naruto started to remove his sleeveless coat. "Oh shit, hurry put this on you must be freezing out here."

The cat burglar placed a hand on his shoulder to stop the blond in his tracks. "Its fine, you'll be cold without it; I'll go grab a jacket in my room and come back, I'll be in just a minute."

"Are you sure? We could back inside?"

Nami shook her head. "It's too noisy inside and besides, the company is better out here in the first place." She smiled brightly.

They shared a warm smile before she headed back inside. Naruto watched her sway her hips as she walked across the grass floored deck of the ship.

He sighed before gazing up into the stars and wondered what everyone back in Konoha was doing at this exact moment.

_Hidden Village in the Leaves. _

Kakashi was relaxing on his living room sofa, yet again reading one of Jiraya's Icha Icha books. Usually, no matter what the situation was, once he started reading he found it near impossible to let the book down. However, since the disappearance of Naruto, he found it difficult to read more than a page. He placed the book down on the sofa and then leaned back to reminisce on what happened the past few days.

_Flashback_

Knock Knock Knock

The Hokage lifted her head up from the scroll she was reading. "Come in."

Tsunade raised an eye brow as she saw a nervous looking Kakashi and a defeated Sakura walking into her office. Sakura's bangs were covering her face trying to cover her sore cried out eyes from her master.

"Kakashi, you guys are back unusually earlier, then I assume your mission was a success? Wait a second, where's Naruto?" Tsunade questioned.

The mere mention of his name caused Sakura to drop onto her knees and started to cry relentlessly. Tsunade's eyes widened before she jumped up from her seat and ran to her apprentice's aid. She knelt down on one knee and embraced the distraught medic.

"Heyy Sakura, don't cry... whatever happened everything's going to be alright..." Tsunade reassured her in a motherly tone. Kakashi however would not receive such treatment.

The Sannin tightened her hug. _'This is bad, I've never seen her like this before. Could it be linked to Naruto's absence? It must be, she broke down when at the sound of his name.' _

The Godaime shifted her attention on Kakashi who remained frozen standing next to them. "What the Hell is going on around here Kakashi?!" A sweat drop crawled down the neck of the jounin.

"Tsunade-sama, I think it's best if you were to sit before I hand in my report." He said anxiously.

Tsunade helped Sakura back on to her feet, and then she and Kakashi retrieved two wooden chairs from the corner of the room and placed them on opposite sides of the Hokage's desk.

Tsunade took a seat on her chair shortly as Kakashi and Sakura followed. "Explain exactly what happened on your mission and where the hell is Naruto?"

Kakashi sighed then proceeded with his report on the events of their mission. He told her everything, from Naruto using nature energy to locate the unusual chakra, the crack suspended in the air, how Naruto acted rashly as the crack began to change form, the sudden activation of his Mangekyo sharingan and finally Naruto using his rasengan to destroy 'the threat' but ended up being sucked up by the darkness.

"... After the explosion, Naruto was nowhere to be found, no trace, scent or even chakra signature, it's almost like he vanished from the face of the earth." Kakashi concluded.

The Godaime hokage didn't like this one bit. She knew Naruto wasn't the best at hiding his chakra but showing absolutely no signs of chakra signature while Kakashi was there; she couldn't help but think of the worst case scenario.

Tsunade didn't immediately reply to Kakashi's report, she stood up from her seat and turned around to face to village. "So what you're saying is that Naruto is missing or possibly dead?" Her voice was low and filled with fear.

Kakashi shut his eyes tight. "Yes."

Sakura who had been staring into her lap this whole time clenched her fists.

Tsunade was fighting back tears but was failing. A single tear dropped down her cheeks before she spoke. "I see. You two are dismissed. Take a week off too."

Sakura twitched. "But shishou, what about Naruto? We can't just give up and assume he's dead. There's no body or evidence to even think that!"

Her voiced shocked the others in the room, they were sure that Sakura was too upset to even speak.

Tsunade hung her head low. "I know Sakura; I'm going to order an Anbu team to investigate Naruto's disappearance, until we have conclusive results on what occurred tonight we are not assuming he's dead. Now go."

Kakashi and Sakura both stood bowed and left the room. Satisfied that she was all alone, Tsunade dropped down on to her knees to release all her sorrow. The only times she can remember when she cried this badly was when her ex-lover and younger brother died.

END OF FLASHBACK

The Copy Nin leaned forward rested his elbows on his thighs and grabbed his silver long spiky locks. _'Naruto's missing and it's all my fault, I should have stopped him from attacking that thing and now he's missing or possibly dead.'_ Kakashi rubbed his sharingan. _'Where the hell are you, Naruto?'_

_Thousand Sunny _

Naruto continued his gazed upon the stars but something interesting was happening somewhere much closer.

_Crow's Nest_

Sinful moans sipped out the mouth of a certain archaeologist. Robin quivered in excitement as she straddled a topless Zoro. Their lips ravaged each other as they pressed their bodies even closer. The kiss was fast, filled with urgency and lust, Zoro tightened his grip on Robin's full plump ass as her hands explored every inch of her lover's muscular body.

Robin couldn't suppress a lustful moan as she lowered herself further onto the huge bulge in Zoro's trousers. He took this opportunity to slide his tongue inside her mouth to deepen the kiss. Robin cupped his face with her hands to allow him to reach further into her wet excited mouth. Their tongues fought with one another as their urge to pleasure their partner ten folded. Her eyes widened when Zoro took a hand of her backside to suddenly grope her breast.

Even through her dress and bra, Zoro could tell how big and soft Robin's breasts truly are. He withdrew his tongue from the confines of Robin's hot mouth then moved on to her cheek, Zoro placed some open mouthed kisses mixed with some tongue flickers and saliva all the way from her cheek, to her jaw line, neck and collar bone.

Free from Zoro's tongue, Robin now had luxury to enjoy Zoro's ministration on her luscious body. Her breaths quickened as she wrapped her arms around his head to encourage him to continue worshiping her. Zoro quickly understood Robin's plea as he increased his rubbing motion on her chest then released his other hand from Robin's ass to reach further down...

A loud moan escaped her throat as her back arched from the shock of Zoro's middle finger entering her soaking wet folds. After seeing her reaction, Zoro couldn't help but to stop sucking on her neck to smirk.

On the surfaced Robin may have looked like she in sexual heaven but her thoughts were somewhere else completely. _'Here we go, again ahhh, why do we always, uhh do this? Oh God not my ear. Have mindless animal sex when we get drunk.'_

Zoro withdrew his juice coated finger from her arousal and his hand from her breast, then he slowly stroked her thighs upwards to reach for the helm of her purple dress, he managed to pull it up to her waist before Robin had to aid in removing the garment. Zoro took a second to appreciate Robin's voluptuous figure. Her purple laced bra and thong highlighted her curvy but slender body.

_'He looks sorta cute when he stares at me like that.' _Robin giggled.

Zoro twitched. "What's so funny huh?"

"Oh nothing, please continue." She said seductively.

"Damn right I will." Zoro smirked before he started to caress and kiss all of her nearly naked form.

_'Is it because we're drunk that we could allow ourselves to do this over and over again without talking about it? And what's worse we pretend like it never happened the next day, what is this relationship between Zoro and me? Does he even like me? Is he expecting a relationship out of this someday? Oh God, do I even like him? Or are we both just means for each other to scratch a sexual itch?' _

Zoro reach around her back and unhooked her bra exposing her pink erect nipples. Zoro quickly placed one of her nipples in his mouth while kneading the other.

_'Oh my God this is good, Ahh screw it let me enjoy myself and worry about this some other time.' _"Enough with the teasing Zoro-kun and Fuck Me Already!"

Zoro smirked victoriously then unceremoniously laid her on her back on the sofa. He ripped her thong of off her followed by the removal of his trousers. "Believe me I was planning to."

_Main Deck_

Naruto had been waiting patiently for Nami's return for 5 minutes now; he found it suspicious that it was taking her so long to retrieve a jacket. _'Maybe she went to sleep?'_ But the early night breeze was becoming unbearable to even think straight. He abandoned all his doubtful thoughts as he headed straight to Nami's room.

_Minutes earlier_

Navigator Nami's return to Naruto was delayed by a small conversation in the kitchen with Sanji, Brook and Franky. She just wanted to get her jacket in her room then come back to Naruto to finish their interesting chat, but apparently teasing her by calling her an alcoholic by her nakama was more important to them. She flicked the light switch in her room almost blinding the intoxicating cat burglar.

Her eyes widened when she saw an uninvited person sitting on her bed.

"L-Luffy! What are you doing here, you can't just sit on a girls bed unannounced you know?!"

Luffy's head was low and used his bangs to hide the emotions on his face or the lack their off. He stood up from the bed to slowly stride up to the pissed off navigator. Without warning Luffy gently took hold of Nami by her waist to push her up against the wall, he used the wall next to Nami's head to lean his face closer to hers.

Her nose was inches away from his while her whole body betrayed her by prevented her from any form of moment. Blood rushed to her face when she felt Luffy's breath on her lips.

"Luffy, you don't want to do this, you had too much to drink, stop this before you do something you'll regret." Nami pleaded with desperation.

Luffy deepened his stare as he ignored her warning. "I've missed you Nami..."

Nami's heart skipped a beat before she stared at floor in sorrow, she knew where this was going and she didn't like it.

"I thought we said that this was over... that _we_ were over." She spoke quietly to ensure no one could hear their conversation.

"You know my feelings for you can never be over." Luffy confessed in a husky voice.

She met him in the eye once again. "Luffy, what we had, the three months that we secretly had together, it was great..."

Luffy smirked. "So let's get back together."

"But we can't, you and I both know exactly why we broke up. There's no way that this or us can ever happen again." She said forcefully.

Luffy remained silent.

Nami continued. "Besides, I know why you're really doing this. You don't miss me, you miss _her_."

He bit his lip in irritation. "Please don't talk about her. And no matter what you say, I do miss you and I know you miss me too."

She blushed at his boldness. "Lair... and I don't..."

Luffy smirked. "Oh yeah? Are you telling me you don't miss this-" The captain leaned in ever so slowly to steal a kiss, Nami closed her eyes to prepare for herself for the impact. "Luffy don't..."

"Nami are you alright, what's, taking, so..."

Nami and Luffy shot their heads towards the door.

_'__Shit!_' They thought in unison.

"N-Naruto! What are you doin-" Nami noticed how close Luffy's arms were to her breasts. "This-this isn't what it looks like." She protested desperately.

The paralysed Naruto couldn't reply as he was too occupied processing the display of affection transpiring in front of him. He felt a tiny pinch in his stomach as he saw just how close they truly were and where Luffy's hand was placed.

Naruto lowered his head and spoke quietly. "I'm sorry."

He immediately shunshined out of sight, leaving his captain and navigator alone once again.

"Naruto wait!" Nami yelled as she pushed Luffy's hand off her waist to run after the blond. Her chase was cut short as she heard the sound of crying originating behind her.

She looked around to see a tearful Luffy, one hand leaning on the wall as his tearful eyes fixated on the floor.

"Luffy, are you alr-"

"I'm sorry Nami." He cut her off as he continues to drop tears on her bedroom floor. "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean to, I didn't wanna, I never-"

"It's okay." She interrupted to him.

"No its not, I was out of line, I'm the worst capt-"

"Don't do that to yourself!" Nami scolded loud enough to stop his crying. "You're the best god damn captain on the entire Grand Line!" She may have not liked his behaviour minutes ago but he was still her captain, the captain she owed her life to, the captain she loved and respected with all her heart.

She took several steps forward to squeeze him in a breath taking embrace. Luffy didn't know what was happening but as long as she could forgive him, he couldn't care less.

Nami stroked his coal coloured hair. "You really miss her don't you?" She said with sympathy.

He nodded his trapped head in-between her hand and chest.

"I'm sure you'll see her again someday, but until that time comes." She pulled back to meet his eyes. "Go easy on the drinks okay?" She smiled warmly.

After sharing a giggle, Nami turned around to continue her search for Naruto in the hope that he'd listen to her explanation of the misunderstanding.

"Nami..."

She stopped her stride but didn't turn to the voice.

"Thank you." Said the hopeful captain.

Nami smiled even though she knew he couldn't see it. A second later her chase for Naruto was on.

The navigator started her search inside the ship, his bedroom, kitchen, doctor's office, aquarium but no luck. _'Not here, he must be outside then, I just hope he'll listen to me after everything he saw.'_ A heart stopping thought immobilized her legs. _'Oh no! I kissed him earlier and now he thinks I was kissing Luffy, he'll think I'm that kinda girl. This is bad I need to fix this fast.'_ She put her jacket on before embarking to her next destination.

Nami ran outside top speed, she adjusted her sights on finding the all black wearing blond while ignoring all questions from her bewildered crew mates. From what she could tell no one on the grass floored deck met that description, so that meant he could only be in one place.

_Sunnys head_

Naruto sat in silence gazing upon the wide moonlit sea. He has been thoughtless because he truly did not know what to think. No longer could he feel the freezing cold breeze on his skin because his mind was on more important matters.

_'__Did I misread her all this entire time?'_ He chuckled as he thought about the kiss he and Nami shared. _'So it was just a friend helping out another friend after all, God I hate that word.'_ The image of Sakura's reply to his confession resurfaced. "_You know I love you too right, as a friend."_

He shook his head to remove the thought but all it did was remind him of Sasuke, then Luffy and how they won the hearts of the ones he took interest on. _'Why wouldn't she go for Luffy, he saved her entire village from a tyrant and on top of that, he's one of the nicest guys I know._' He thought sincerely of his captain.

"Hey..."

A minor gasp escaped his lips as he recognised the new voice. But what shook him most was despite his excellent sensing skills, she got behind him without detecting her.

"Oh hey." He attempted to keep his voice neutral but it failed miserably.

Sensing the sadness and awkwardness in him, she bravely took a seat.

Moments of stomach turning silence passed as Nami organised her thoughts and planned how she was going to explain. Naruto sat like a statue unknowing what to say or do.

She faced him head on. "Naruto what happened back there was-"

"It's alright Nami." He interrupted. "You don't need to explain yourself. You're with Luffy and that's great." He said with a disappointed smile. "I'm just regretting that kiss we had earlier."

Nami clenched her fists.

Naruto tried to make a joke to lift the mood. "I mean Zoro would probably cut me in ribbons if he found out I kissed the captain's girlfr-"

"I'm not his girlfriend!" She snapped.

Wide-eyed Naruto shut his mouth.

Nami shifted her vision to the sea as she prepared herself for the explanation. "Well I was... once."

Her voice was strained and coated with sadness. "Years ago, before we reached Sabaody Archipelago, Luffy and I secretly dated for three months. I don't know how it happened, it just sort of did. But we agreed to keep it a secret from everyone else, but we think Zoro and Robin found out because, well they usually know everything. It was a secret because we knew the others wouldn't understand, hell, sometimes I didn't understand but it worked... or so I thought."

Naruto had to gulp. He spoke carefully. "S-so what happened?"

Nami closed her eyes and sighed. "Because we had to sneak around so much so that no one would find out, we hardly had any time to together so our relationship was a slow one. The night before we reached Sabaody Archipelago was our 3 month anniversary. Somehow we got the chance to spend it alone; I still think Zoro and Robin had something to do with it. Anyway, since we took our relationship slow and it was a special night, we..."

Naruto nodded.

"No, no, no, we didn't do that." She sweated. "But it was the reason why it ended between us." She finished glumly.

The blond couldn't pick up on her indirect message. He narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"

Nami purposely avoided eye contact. "That night was going so perfectly until we reached the bedroom..."

As much as he pretended to hate them, Naruto had read enough Icha Icha books to know where this was going so he just wanted to shunshin the hell out of there, but he decided against it.

"At that point in our relationship all we did was kiss and cuddle and sometimes tongue but-"

"Woaaww I didn't need to know that." He protested.

Nami smiled embarrassingly as she got carried away, she felt like she could be so honest around him and tell him everything, it was that sensation she only felt when she was with Robin or Luffy.

"Right, I'm sorry."

Naruto forced a smile. "It's okay."

"So, as we entered his room, there was just something odd in the air that night, we were well aware that we were leading to somewhere."

Naruto had a blond moment. "Somewhere? Where did you go?"

"I meant sex you idiot!" She snapped.

"Oh right, OH!"

Nami flushed uncontrollably. "Yeah, but just before we did anything, we both stopped."

Naruto mentally sighed in relief. "Why?" He asked anxiously.

"We finally saw each other." She answered dryly.

The male tilted his head in confusion. "Huh? What do you mean you saw each other?"

FLASHBACK

The night before docking at Sabaody Archipelago

Nami giggled in Luffy's mouth as she used her back to open his bedroom door. The room was pitch black and the only source of light were the silver rays of the moon.

"Jeez, slow down Luffy, I know we haven't had any time alone together for a while but let's not rush this okay." She advised playfully moving aimlessly closer to the bed.

He locked lips with her again. "We have all the time in the world." He whispered.

She flushed brightly. "Well actually Robin said that everyone else will be back around 12? And hey look at the time, only about an hour left." She winked seductively.

"Oh you know what I mean." He said light-heartedly as he lifted her up and unceremoniously drop her on the bed. They shared a warm giggle as Luffy laid on top of her missionary position. He placed his hands on the bed on each side of her head to gain another glance of her angelic face.

But the room was too dark, the general outlines of her face were the features visible. To solve that problem, Luffy stretched his arms over to the lamp and switched it on. However, as the light illuminated their faces, what they felt was something they never would have expected.

It hit them both like a ton of bricks; the feeling was indescribable as the situation became unbearably uncomfortable. Luffy and Nami stared into each other with emotionless faces as the revelation dawned upon the pirates.

_'__Am I really about to have sex with Luffy? LUFFY?!_' All of her good and bad memories they shared remerged. She couldn't avoid this feeling of uncertainty deep within her stomach. Nami had never known what it felt to be in love before but this sudden awkwardness she was feeling in this situation immediately told her that Luffy was not it.

The captain wasn't faring too well neither. He continued his emotionless gaze on her as his mind brought him back to the very first moment he met Nami. There were no romantic sparks, no love at first sight, nothing. All he saw was a girl he wanted to befriend and make her his navigator. And now as they were about to step over that un-crossable line between true friends; those same feelings had begun to resurface. _'I can't do this, this is Nami, one of my best friends that I treasure and love. But am I in love with her?'_

His head dropped soon after he found his answer.

Nami surprised him when she lifted his chin to meet him in the eye. She looked saddened but relieved nonetheless. "We can't do this."

"Yeah" Luffy replied dryly.

Moments of silence passed as they accept the inevitable.

"So, this is it..."

Luffy nodded minutely. "I guess so."

He rolled to the side to lie back on his bed and sighed. They shared an awkward but peaceful moment staring at the ceiling. But without warning Nami rolled off the bed.

She strode across the room to make her leave. She opened the door but paused before departing. She addressed Luffy who continued ceiling watching. "We're doing the right thing Luffy."

He closed his eyes shut. "I know Nami."

"I'll see you later, then?" She asked optimistically.

Luffy forced small but genuine smile. "Yeah."

Nami left the room shortly after leaving her captain alone.

END OF FLASHBACK

Nami dropped her shoulders. "We realised what we were doing and who we were doing it with." She continued. "Luffy and I have been friends no, best friends for years. I was the second person to join his crew all the way back home in East Blue..."

Naruto nodded in understanding.

"In the end I couldn't go through with it. Having sex with Luffy just didn't feel right to me. We were only meant to be friends and I'm sure he feels the same way." Nami finished.

"Then what happened tonight?" Naruto questioned.

"Please don't get the wrong idea, Luffy was too drunk and he pinned me against the wall, don't think I'm that kind of girl who just kisses anyone!" She voiced defensively.

"There's nothing going on between you and Luffy?" He asked nonchalantly.

Nami shook her head. "No! Absolutely nothing! He feels so bad about it." she replied.

Naruto made some noise of acknowledgement. Although he was relieved that Nami was single, he knew that her past with Luffy would complicate things. Now he didn't know whether to see where things would lead with Nami or focus on being just her friend for Luffy's sake, his captain's sake.

The busty woman could instantly tell from his expression that his thoughts were conflicted. She told him everything but he remained sceptical. If there was any chance of fixing this and make him fully accept that he didn't need to hold back just because of her history with Luffy, she had to do something and fast.

"Hey." She said happily snapping his attention once again.

"Just so you know, Luffy may be in my past-" Nami positioned her body so she was on her hands and knees. "But I'm looking forward to the future." She leaned in and gave Naruto a full, warm kiss on the cheek.

He sat frozen still as her lips made contact with his cheek. It wasn't as heart racing as their first kiss but it was a kiss none the less.

The navigator pulled away with a satisfied smile on her lips. Nami giggled at the speechless Naruto who was struggling to interpret his raging emotions.

She found her way to her feet and made her way back to her room smiling victoriously.

Naruto on the other hand, was left on the head of the Thousand Sunny holding his cheek, while he organised his thoughts.

_The Next Morning_

Hangovers. Some days your worst enemy, other days your worst enemy. Judging by the current state of the Straw Hats, that statement couldn't be any truer. They all passed out from near alcohol poisoning thanks to another drinking game they all played last night.

It was reaching noon as Naruto's eyes began to twitch thanks to the irritating sunlight piercing through the kitchen windows. His whole body felt horrible, his muscles were sore and he had a slamming headache. He looked around the kitchen to see how everyone else was doing when he noticed he was at eye level to the chairs. _'That's why my back hurts so much, I slept on the floor.' _

Naruto had no recollection of why or how he ended up on the floor in the first place. But as he stood up ignoring all aches and pains, he searched around for his nakamas and he found out he had it easy.

Sanji was knocked out on the kitchen counter, Zoro was sleeping on his face nearby, Brook and Chopper passed out on the huge body of Franky and Usopp was dumped on the kitchen table shaped like a star fish. The only ones who did look comfortable were the two ladies of the crew who slept on the corner while sharing a pillow and blanket they must have brought in from their room.

Scratching his cluttered blond hair, Naruto took a few unbalanced steps to take a seat on the table. As he sat down he arched his back to sort the kink in his back. _'Wait a minute, why is my body aching? I've drank before but I usually feel normal when I wake up. That fox has some explaining to do.'_

Inside Naruto's mindscape.

"Oi! Kurama! Wake up you lazy ass fox!" He yelled at the sleeping demon.

Kurama groaned in annoyance. **"Be gone Naruto, I'm trying to sleep"**

The blond lifted an eyebrow. "Are you- Don't tell me you're- Haha you do! You have a hangover!" Naruto laughed hysterically pissing off the fox in the process.

**"****Shut up you little brat your making it worse." **

Rubbing the tears out of his eyes Naruto found the will to speak. "I can't believe this, the nine tail demon fox, feared across all the lands has a headache." He teased.

The fox ignored it.

"But anyway, I think you owe me some explanation, why are you not healing my body?"

Kurama sighed. **"The alcohol, it effects your body and your chakra. Since my chakra has infused with yours, it effected the healing. Until the alcohol has left your systems, your healing abilities are equal to that off a normal shinobi." **He snorted.

"What? So this is what it's like to be normal. I don't like it."

He exited his mindscape and was greeted to the sound of a groaning rubber man attempting desperately to regain normality. Luffy rubbed his disoriented eyes only to open them to see Naruto sitting on the table directly in front of him. They share a little nod before Luffy sprung to his feet and sat on the chair opposite the blond.

As soon as they saw each other's faces, they burst into whispered laughter to prevent waking up the others.

Luffy ended his chuckle. "Have you seen your face?"

"No but have you seen yours?" He suppressed another laughing fit.

Luffy grew a questioning look. "What do you- wait, is there something drawn on my face?"

Naruto smirked. "Yes, it says rubber boy on your forehead and everywhere else says baka."

The captain shook his head in disbelief as Naruto continued to laugh.

"I don't know why you're laughing so much, _Foxy-chan_." Luffy mocked with a smile.

The blond grazed his cheek with his fingers then inspected them. "Oh no they didn't, they did didn't they." He said defeated.

Luffy could only nod with empathy.

Moments of silenced passed, the two males looked at one another knowing the conversation turned serious.

Luffy whispered. "So are we good?"

FLASHBACK

Mr Namikaze remained on the Sunny's head for another twenty minutes after Nami revealed her secret past. Acceptance was a tricky thing but he was getting there. However, this new revelation was playing with his emotions. He was sure that he didn't want to avoid Nami but you don't need to be genius to know there's an unspoken rule amongst men that says you can't date your friend's ex-girlfriends, then surely that rule can't be any truer when it comes to your captain's ex, right?

Naruto continued his conflicted thoughts until he sensed a figure behind him. _'Oh so now my senses want to work.'_

The figure chuckled playfully. "You know, that's my seat." He joked.

Naruto chuckled light-heartedly. "I'm sorry but the view from here is just..."

"Awesome ain't it." The man gingerly took a seat next to Naruto.

To say it was awkward was the ultimate understatement. Both men had no idea where or how to begin but considering the situation, anyone else would feel the same.

Luffy broke the silence. "I guess she told you everything..."

Naruto became anxious. "Luffy-"

"Wait, let me say something first." The captain ordered.

The blond obliged.

"The guy you saw earlier, that wasn't me. I'm not like that- I'm, I would have never-"

"I know Luffy." Naruto said deeply to the pleading captain. "I know you don't have a single evil bone in your body." He continued. "Alcohol makes us do crazy things." He spoke sadly as he remembered the time when he got drunk and almost kissed Hinata at Konoha's post war celebration after defeating Kaguya. He saw how much attention Sasuke was receiving from Sakura and he felt jealous and spiteful.

Luffy replied. "I still hope you would forgive me one day."

Naruto smiled faintly. "There's nothing to forgive." He spoke genuinely. The two shared a peaceful moment. But without warning, Luffy broke that moment.

"You like her don't you?" He asked plainly.

The jinchuuriki twitched. It took him a while to find an honest answer to the question. "I-um."

"I won't be mad you know, it's okay if you do." Luffy interrupted.

A small curl on the edge of Naruto's lips formed. However that smile was short lived. "No it's not that, it's just…" He sighed deeply. "Seeing you two tonight brought back some memories I'd rather not remember."

This peaked Luffy's curiosity. He's usually not the type to mind people's business but he couldn't fight to urge to know. "What kind of memories?" He asked carefully.

The blond smiled faintly as he anticipated that Luffy would ask, but since he did, he had no choice, captain's orders.

"Well since we're sharing secrets I guess it's my turn." He paused to adjust his sitting position. "Back home, there's this girl and I loved her more than anyone else in the world. I would have done anything to make her happy but… she chose a man who will never love her back, a man who doesn't deserve her love, a man who I call my best friend."

Luffy dropped his gaze in sympathy. "I see, you don't know if you've moved on?" He stated with confidence.

Naruto was a little surprise that the happy-go captain understood so easily.

"You can say that. Don't get me wrong I think Nami is great, she's funny, beautiful and smart. I just don't think I should like anyone else until I'm over _her._"

Luffy listened intently. He understood what Naruto was saying but was hoping that if Nami was to ever end up with someone else, it would be someone as considerate as Naruto.

The rubber man placed a hand on the blond's shoulder. "I'm sure one day you'll get past this." He smiled before he got up and began to return back to his room. "Also, if anyone can help you with your problem, it's Nami." Luffy waved his goodbye to end the conversation.

Naruto smiled optimistically as he viewed Luffy's back.

END OF FLASH BACK.

Naruto flashed him a smile. "Of course we're good!"

_2 days later. Marine HQ_

Once every month, all admirals and vice admirals are summoned by Fleet Admiral Akainu to discuss the latest news, facts, and rumours on upcoming threats on the Grand Line. Most marine officers found the monthly meeting a nuisance but since it was an ancient tradition, attendance is mandatory.

The meeting room was spacious and adorned with paintings and expensive décor with a large rectangular wooden table in the centre. Akainu and his admirals side by side on the end of the table.

"Information from our spies have all suggested a new threat is dawning upon the Grand Line. Rumours have been brewing that a great change is fast approaching, some are calling it a revolution, others the apocalypse." Akainu informed his vice admirals.

"A revolution? Apocalypse? No one in the New World could possibly have that much power." One of the Vice Admiral added.

"Alone, yes. Our intelligence have lead us to believe that in the past year a secret alliance has been formed. An alliance between some of the most dangerous men in the New World."

A shiver ran through all the spines of the Vice Admirals.

"Who are these men that can cause this so called revolution?" Admiral Fujitora questioned.

Akainu summoned lava in his fit. "Juggernaut Jagger, Sky King Kazama and rogue ex-rear admiral Matsumoto Tokiomi."

"Ohhh that's one hell of a team." Admiral Kizaru playfully added.

An extremely anxious vice admiral spoke. "That's preposterous! Two pirate captains with a bounty over 500 million teaming up with a former marine, the idea is simply outrageous!" He yelled violently.

"Watch your tongue!" The Fleet Admiral snapped.

"It all seems impossible however, it seems that they did not form this alliance on their own accord. A fourth party lead by a man who calls himself Azazel is involved, we don't know what he's offering for their loyalty and cooperation but they're calling themselves The Chosen Ones."

The Vice Admirals took a moment to acknowledge the new information.

Akainu continued. "This Azazel is a complete mystery but to be able to form an alliance with those three, it's certain that we cannot underestimate him. We have still yet to discover their goals or what this 'revolution' could be, so be on guard at all times." The lava man finished.

"Fleet Admiral Akainu!" The shock from the unexpected visitor caused the marines to shoot their attention towards a tall brunette receptionist.

"What's the problem Lilia!? What could be so important to disturb this meeting?" Akainu replied infuriatedly.

The receptionist bowed. "My apologies sir, but Lieutenant Kage has returned from his mission with information relevant to the nature of this meeting."

"Fine send him in." He replied dryly.

Several steps behind Lilia stood a man in a dark cloak. He stepped forward, removed his hood to reveal his long dark hair and brown eyes. Kage saluted to his superior officers.

Akainu nodded. "Report, Lieutenant."

"Hai, two days ago I was sent on a recon mission on Mila Rose to spy on the activities of the lightning man, Enel."

"Ahh yes, the mad man who think he's God, what did you find out?" Akainu replied.

"Sir, Enel is dead."

Every pair of eyes in the room popped open.

Akainu clenched his lava fist. _'This could be troublesome, Enel may have been delusional but_ _his devil fruit abilities were formidable.' _"Who's responsible for his death?"

Seconds later, Kage disappeared then reappeared over Akainu's shoulder. Kage placed several photos on the table in front of the Fleet Admiral. "He said his name is Naruto Namikaze, the newest member of the Straw Hat Pirates."

Admiral Fujitora shook his head. "Those Straw Hats are as bothersome as always."

The lava man picked up one of the photos with his normal hand. He inspected the picture in detail. "Wait, so are you telling me that this Naruto killed Enel by himself, and what's with this black energy around him?"

"Hai, he did kill Enel alone, also the black energy is lightning sir, black lightning."

Minor gasp were released from the mouths of the Vice Admirals. Small confused conversations brewed in the air.

"Ohh? I thought only Enel had the ability of lightning?" Kizaru questioned.

"I assure you that these pictures do not lie, this Naruto displayed power I've never seen, and I could have sworn he nearly detected me." He asked with a hint of confusion.

One of the vice admiral couldn't hold his tongue. "Impossible! You possess the ability of the sense-sense fruit which allows you to fully mask your presence does it not? That's the exact reason why you're the Marines top spy!"

Kage nodded. "I cannot explain it myself but it is the truth."

Akainu slammed his fists on the table rattling everyone present. "Take these photos to the Wanted Posters Department immediately! Assign the maximum bounty for first time offenders, Go!"

The lieutenant grabbed the photos, saluted then vanished. Leaving an anxious group of admirals and an irritated Fleet admiral. _'Those Straw Hats are becoming more difficult every day, what to do…'_

_2 days later. In a moonlit room located somewhere in the New World._

"Welcome back Kage, I assume you were not followed by pirates or the Marines?" A deep voice in the shadows declared.

Kage kneeled down on one knee. "Hai, I always take precautionary measures when coming to these meetings."

"Excellent, Now down to business, report on your _real_ mission on Mila Rose."

Kage's answer was interrupted by sinister snickering originating within the shadows.

"He failed obviously." One voice to Kages left announced his presence.

Another voice to his right spoke. "He couldn't even accomplish a simple recruiting mission."

"Why do we even bother with this incompetent idiot?" A third opinion voiced itself behind him.

Kage bit his lip to prevent himself from exploding with rage.

"Silence! You three hold your tongues, let Kage speak." The first deep voice commanded.

The three unrecognisable figures obliged.

"Arigato. However, my mission was indeed a failure. The Straw Hat pirates had eliminated Enel before I could recruit him to our ranks. My deepest apologies." Kage said disappointingly.

A nerve wrecking silence brewed in the air making the lieutenant sweat.

"I already knew, word travels fast however, do not fret. This will not harm us or our plans. Enel's unstable psychological mind frame would have been burden anyhow."

A relieved Kage replied. "How about the Straw Hats? What are we do to about them? Shall I inform Jagger, Kazama and Tokiomi?"

The voice hummed in wonder. "For now, we do nothing. Those bothersome pirates were merely in the right place at the right time and I'm sure they are not aware of our plans. However, if they display hostility against us then we shall take action."

"Understood." Kage replied. "What shall be my next orders?"

"You are to maintain your position in the Marines as my spy without being discovered until the time is right."

Kage lifted his head and then flashed a menacing smile. "As you wish, Azazel-sama."

**Authors Notes - **I had to bring a past with Luffy and Nami coz they're my second favourite pairing after NarutoxSakura.

I know its been romance focused for a bit so I'm gonna tone it down and focus on the adventure side for a while.

Chapter 6 will be up in a few weeks!


	6. It's Official!

Chaoter 6 is finally up. I want to say a big thank you to **skg1991 **for being my beta for this story.

Hope you enjoy!

"Gear Second!" Said Luffy before he dug his bare foot into the sand.

A long defeated sigh escaped the mouth of the former Leaf shinobi as he and the rest of the Straw Hats stood behind their captain.

Zoro noticed quickly. "Stop your complaining, Luffy said this was his mess so let him clean it up."

The blonde dropped his head childishly. "I know that but we've got the numbers, we should be fighting him as a team. This goes against everything I've ever learned as a shinobi."

"Don't forget that you're not a shinobi anymore? You're a pirate now, get used to it." Zoro crossed his arms

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Hai Hai."

"Your 400 million beli bounty's mine Mugiwara!"

_Earlier that day._

Three and a half weeks have passed since the electrifying events on Mila Rose. The Mugiwara pirates remained on the peaceful island for another two weeks until they were eventually chased out by the Marines.

It was a bitter pill to swallow but Naruto had fully accepted Nami's secret past and continued to be close friends. However, as much as he enjoyed her company, he thought it wouldn't be fair to seek a relationship with the navigator or anyone else for that matter until he was positive that his affections for a certain pink haired kunoichi were no more.

After his welcoming party, Nami had been doing her best to keep her distance from him but was failing miserably. That night she may have had discovered romantic feelings towards him but decided to bide her time and let these feelings bloom naturally. But Nami being Nami, that didn't stop her from giving the occasional wink or dressing up in eye-catching outfits.

Even after the awkward talks on Sunny's head, Luffy, Naruto and Nami continued being their old cheerful selves. There was an unspoken agreement to accept but forget everything that occurred that night. And that's what they did. Luffy was as energetic and loud as ever, Nami kept scolding him for every idiotic thing he did while Naruto smiled awkwardly as he could see much of himself and Sakura in Luffy and Nami.

The Straw Hats were in the middle of the New World Sea and have been sailing non-stop for a week and a half.

Robin entered the main deck with a fresh cup of morning coffee, instantly smiling upon noticing the new but common phenomenon on the Thousand Sunny. Luffy, Usopp, Chopper and Nami all gathered at the side of the ship deeply viewing the ocean below.

The Demon Child joined the small group to witness the show. "He's at it again?" She asked totally surprised.

The four nodded in union.

"No matter how many times you see it, it never fails to amaze you, doesn't it?" Robin spoke highly with a bright smile.

"Well he _is_ standing on water." Nami answered without taking her eyes off the sight.

The sight, drenched and topless Naruto on the ocean surface accumulating chakra. The water beneath his feet swirled violently as his prepares his jutsu.

The raven haired women took a sip of her coffee. "What's he planning to do now?"

The four sustained their stare in wonder. Usopp shrugged. "Who knows? But I bet it's going to be awesome!"

Satisfied with his chakra levels, Naruto flashed his eyes open followed by a series of hand seals. "Ushi, Saru, Oo, Ne, Ee, Tori, Ushi, Uma, Tori, Ne-"

Luffy, Chopper and Usopp tensed with excitement. "Here it comes!"

Nami leaned on the wooden rails and smiled brightly. "I wonder what it will be this time." She said quietly to herself.

"Tora, Mee, Nae, Saru, Oo, Ee, Tatsu, Hitsuji, Ne, Ushi, Saru, Tori, Jin, Ne, Ee, Tori!"

The rotating water under Naruto stopped.

"Suiton: Suiryūdan no Jutsu!"

Jaws hit the floor as a dragon shot up from below and made its assent high in the sky as it revolved around its caster, continuing its climb until it reached higher than the mast of the ship. The dragon roared deafeningly, revealing the full extent of its magnificence.

Content with its size and power, Naruto deactivated the jutsu consequently obliterating the dragon into millions of tiny water droplets which crafted a dazzling rainbow in the process.

"Beautiful." Robin whispered, mesmerized by the breath taking sight.

A faintly fatigued Naruto smirked. '_About time! My water dragon's finally at full power. It took a while but I guess it's not called one of the hardest water jutsu for no reason.' _ He gazed up to see his clapping audience. '_That should be enough water training for now.'_

He pumped chakra to his legs to jump up onto the ship. Nami passed him a towel she prepared earlier. "That was some session you pulled today, 2 hours and it's not even noon. I swear you're more addicted to training than Zoro." She said while Naruto dried himself.

The blond chuckled. "You're making it sound like a chore? Training's just one of many things I like to do. And besides, I can't afford to let my jutsus get rusty. What would happen if _someone_ gets kidnapped again?" He teased playfully as he placed his V-neck vest over his head.

Nami blushed but steadied her fists. "You little-"

Robin interrupted before the navigator could explode. "Speaking of jutsu, I'm still a little confused. Does it mean you can use wind, lightning and water?" Asked the ever curious archaeologist.

"Yeah what's that about?" Chopper added.

Naruto forced an awkward smile as he sensed a long winded explanation was required. "Um sort of? Some shinobi are born into clans that inherit chakra that are naturally inclined to one of the five elements." He explained. "For example, one of my teammate is from a clan whose chakra is inclined to fire."

They all nodded.

"My clan are one of few who possess chakra that are inclined to two elements, those elements being wind and water." Naruto chuckled to himself. "I really should have noticed sooner since Nami means wave and kaze wind."

"Ohh, I see."

Naruto bobbed his head. "Yup."

The calling of a seagull mercifully interrupted their discussion. A rolled up newspaper plummeted from above and landed next to Nami's feet.

She grabbed the newspaper and unrolled it. Hey eyes popped followed by a smile at Naruto's direction. "Minna! Come out here!" She called.

Moments later Sanji, Franky, Zoro and Brook exited the kitchen to join the rest.

"Nami-swan! Did you call for me my love?!"

She sighed deeply, exhaling in sarcasm. "Yeah yeah, gather around, I think you all want to see this."

Nine individuals obeyed and stepped closer. "What is it now?" An irritated Zoro added.

Everyone jerked as Nami held up a page from the newspaper. "It's official, 'Black Lightning' Naruto Namikaze is the tenth member of the Straw Hat Pirates!" She said happily and proudly.

Smiles grew as they studied Naruto's new wanted poster. The image displayed the blond coated with his black lightning at full power gripping his katana.

"Not bad for a first bounty." Zoro hid the surprise in his voice.

Usopp twitched. "100 million beli's not bad!?"

Confused by some of the surprised faces, Naruto couldn't comprehend the magnitude of the poster. "Can I take a look at that, Nami?"

Receiving the newspaper, Naruto begun to read the poster.

"Wanted, dead or alive, Black Lightning Naruto Namikaze. 100 million beli for acts of piracy and connections with the Straw Hat Pirates." He scratched the back of his head. "Is a 100 million bounty really that impressive?"

Robin giggled at his cluelessness. "It's the maximum bounty given to first time criminals, Naruto-san. Only two others on this ship have higher bounties, Swordsman-san with 120 million and Senchou-san with 400 hundred million."

"400 hundred Million!" Naruto yelled in astonishment. He switch his attention to his grinning captain. Taking another glance at the poster, the blond smiled faintly. "Looks like I've got some catching up to do."

Sanji puffed smoke. "I think this calls for celebration, anyone have any ideas?"

"The next island should be an hour away, how about a beach party?" Nami suggested optimistically.

"Wait a second! I've been asking for barbeque for nearly a week now!?" The captain protested.

Nami gasped as she came up with a fantastic idea. "Barbeque beach party!"

_2 Hours Later. _

Arriving at their new destination, The Straw Hat pirates celebrated Naruto's official membership in high spirits. It didn't take them long to set up the minor equipment for the celebration. Soon enough the smell of Sanji's cooking infused the air, Luffy filled his stomach with another piece of meat and Chopper, Franky, Usopp and Brook were occupied sculpting an enormous sand castle. Nami was enjoying herself with a warm swim and Robin peacefully sunbathed while she took comfort in the sound of blades crashing into one another.

'_He's good, speed, power and technique, it's obvious that he's a master with a sword, Woaw!' _Naruto thought as he dodged one of Zoro's attacks. Digging his back foot on the wet sand, he countered to switch from defence to offense.

The sudden shift of the battle made avoiding Naruto's blade even that much harder for Zoro. _'I've never seen a fighting style like this before, I can't predict a pattern of attack.' _

Forming an X with his swords, Zoro obstructed Naruto's downward slash. The two found themselves in stalemate as their weapons fought for supremacy.

Deciding that further fighting would be futile, the two swordsman leapt backwards to create distance. The topless men smirked at another before Zoro spoke. "That fighting style of yours is annoying as hell."

Naruto smiled brightly. "I'll take that as a compliment, you're not so bad yourself." The blond responded genuinely.

"Jeez, you're training _again_?!" Nami popped out of the water, surprising the unexpected swordsmen.

"There's so no such thing as too much-"

Naruto finally took a glance at their new spectator only to instantly forget his next set of words. Nami's wet skin glistened beautifully against the bright sun and her white bikini wrapped tightly around her curvy physique. She stood exquisitely as the water level reached mid-thigh.

The jinchuuriki gulped. "…Training."

Nami quickly noticed the effect her body had on him. She smiled proudly. "Um, you know my eyes are up here." She said playfully.

Naruto immediately blushed and adjusted his sight. "Oh sorry, I didn't mean to-"

"It's okay, I don't mind" She winked.

Zoro rolled his eyes in disgust and wondered why they haven't got together already since it was so obvious they liked each other. However his thoughts were rudely interrupted by an uninvited guest.

"Mugiwara!"

The 10 Straw Hats pirates shot their attention to the new, hostile voice. Every set of eyes widened with the exception of Naruto when they discovered the identity the intruder.

Luffy swallowed the meat in his mouth. "Oh it's you" He said overly calmly.

The crew relocated behind their captain while shifting in their fighting stances. Naruto narrowed his eyes, questioning the identity of the tall, red haired, well-built trespasser wearing black khakis and a red unbuttoned shirt.

"Who's this guy?"

A newly nervous Nami stepped closer to Naruto. "Do you remember your first day here nearly a month ago?"

"How could I forget?"

"Well, a few days before that, Luffy got himself into another mess with him before we could resupply the ship."

Zoro gripped his swords. "His name is Takumi. He's ranked in the top ten bounty hunters in the world." He said with a hint of familiarly

"You sound like you know him?" Naruto asked.

"I met him in a bar a long time ago, we even did a job together once. No bounty hunter in the world doesn't know that man."

The red headed male smirked. "I see you still remember me 'Pirate hunter' Zoro." He said mockingly. "It's a shame you became to what you hunted down most of your life. You had talent kid."

"Spare me the pleasantries, Takumi. How did you find us?"

"Is that anyway to treat an old acquaintance? Whatever." Takumi shrugged. "You should know word spreads like wildfire in the New World, all I had to do was listen and ask the right questions. But I must commend you for choosing to come to _this_ island."

"What do you mean by this island?" Robin asked worryingly.

Takumi narrowed his eyes. "What? You don't know? Haha, then that makes you the biggest bunch of idiots in the entire Grand Line. Every pirate knows to avoid Tesa Island."

"W-w-why do they avoid it?" Usopp chattered in fear.

Takumi snorted. "Why should I help filthy criminals like you? Besides, it doesn't matter since you'll all be leaving here in body bags soon enough."

Zoro grunted. "Like that's gonna happen, this is not the same as last time where you fought Luffy by himself, even you and your powers can't take all of us on your own."

"Don't be so sure of yourself, Roronoa Zoro. Killing you pathetic excuses for pirates will be child's play for someone like me."

Naruto tightened the grip on his sword. "Luffy, let's take him down together."

The unusually quiet rubber man held his hand out. "No, I'll take him on alone. It was my fault that got us into trouble. If you didn't help us back then I don't know what would have happened." He spoke deeply with absolute seriousness that sent shivers down several of his crew's spine.

"And it's all because of this guy."

His tone made his intensions unconditionally clear. His crew reluctantly accepted their captain's orders knowing well that further negotiation would be pointless. Luffy stomped his foot. "Gear Second!"

Smirking delightedly, Takumi prepared for combat. "You're actions are commendable, but stupid nonetheless. Your 400 million beli bounty's mine Mugiwara!"

Steaming Luffy disappeared in a blink of an eye, even Naruto lost his trail of thought seeing how fast he was. Reappearing at Takumi's right, Luffy, withdrew his right arm. "Gomu Gomu no – Jet Pistol!"

Leaning back at the last moment, Takumi smoothly evaded the punch. Luffy reappeared once again but this time behind the bounty hunter. "Gomu Gomu no – Stamp!"

His feet connected with air, Takumi side stepped to avoid the attack. Believing he calculated Luffy's maximum speed, Takumi underestimated his opponent and failed to prepare for the following attack.

"Gomu Gomu no – Jet Bazooka!"

The red headed man shielded his chest with his arms to block the attack but that didn't stop him from sliding several meters in the opposite direction.

To say Naruto was impressed by what had transpired was a huge understatement.

'_I had no idea Luffy was this strong!_ _I knew he had to be powerful to call himself captain but this exceeded my expectations. His taijutsu may be unorganised and unusual but it works. He can extend his limbs freely allowing him to switch from short to long range attacks any time he wants which makes predicating his attack pattern near impossible.' _

"Gomu Gomu no – Muchi!"

_'On top of that, his speed matches my raiton shunshin and if those attacks of his make a clean hit, it can cause problems even for the most experienced Jounins including me.' _The edge of his lips curved. '_and something tells me that he's got plenty more up his sleeve' _

Gazing up at the airborne Luffy, the blond questioned his captain's new darkened arms.

Takumi tensed '_Shit!'_

"Gomu Gomu no – Jet Gatling Gun!"

Luffy's bombardment of punches created a thick sand cloud that concealed the bounty hunter.

Overly excited Usopp punched the air. "Yeah! You got him Luffy! That teaches him not to mess with Captain Usopp and his crew!"

The rubber man failed to respond, he keep his attention on the cloud of sand.

"Don't celebrate yet, this fight is far from over." The first mate countered.

"What are you talking about Zoro, no one can take that many-"

A menacing snicker from Takumi's direction cut Usopp's sentence short. "I can't believe you've pushed me this far to use this already, not bad, Mugiwara."

Hearts pumped harder as the sand cloud slowly settled, gradually revealing Takumi's true form.

Luffy's opponent's hands were transformed into huge black pincers, his skin distorted into what seemed like layers upon layers of armour. But the main modification of Takumi's alteration was the armoured tail that curled above his head.

"What the hell is he?" Sanji asked dubiously.

Zoro kept his lone eye on Takumi. "What you can't tell? He's a scorpion."

"Scorpion!" Screamed Usopp and Chopper.

"It's what makes him one of the most deadly bounty hunters in the world. On top of his Haki, the poison in his stinger can paralyse his targets in a single strike."

Shrugging his newly formed shoulders, Takumi spoke up. "I see my reputation precedes me. But knowledge of my power won't matter in the slightest, now I'm at full strength, none of you have the power to stop me."

Luffy clenched his Haki enhanced fists. "There's no way in hell am I going to let you hurt my friends!"

Takumi smirked. "We'll see about that."

Dashing at his opponent at eye popping speeds, Takumi aimed his stinger at Luffy's chest, only to connect with the remnants of the rubber man's steam.

Reappearing behind the scorpion, Luffy withdrew his arm. "Gomu Gomu no – Pistol!"

His punched connected cleanly, but what widened Luffy's eyes was the outcome of his attack. Takumi didn't budge an inch, the punch was unquestionably ineffective.

The bounty hunter rushed back to Luffy's proximity striking multiple jabs at his rubber target. Utilising everything he learned from Rayleigh, Luffy's observation Haki permitted evasion from Takumi's lethal attacks with relative ease.

After dozens of failed attempts, the scorpion man hastily became irritated. Collecting all his strength into one powerful jab, Takumi withdrew his tail and aimed for Luffy's chest. His frustration doubled when his tail connected with sand.

Rematerializing in front of his nakamas, Luffy prepared a counter. "Gomu Gomu-"

His attack was cut short by some green, steaming liquid flying towards him.

Zoro's eyes broadened. "Acid!"

Hearing the warning, Instincts took over, Luffy dodged the lethal substance at the very last second. He may have avoided the attack, but that didn't stop the acid from striking his friends. "Minna watch out!"

Years of shinobi experience triggered, Naruto unconsciously executed multiple hand seals at striking speeds. He took one big breath before activating his jutsu.

"Water style – Water Wall Jutsu!"

Naruto formed the protective wall just in time to stop the deadly acid and startling his friends in the process.

Knowing his nakamas are safe, Luffy sighed in relief before returning his menacing attention on Takumi. "You're going to pay for that."

The bounty hunter smiled triumphantly, acid leaking from his stinger, dissolving the sand beneath his feet. "I highly doubt that. But you should consider yourself lucky, you and your crew are the only people alive that knows about my secret ability. " His expression shifted to one of pure malevolent. "I think it's time to change that, don't you?"

Gritting his teeth in rage, Luffy vanished into thin air. Appearing as various after images, he circled the bounty hunter at never before seen speeds.

Takumi shock his head. "You really think your petty little tricks will work on me and my Haki?"

Luffy kept the barrage of after images for another minute, he tensed as he prepared for his attack. Reappearing a centimetres from the bounty hunters face, Luffy withdrew his arm and launched to what he thought would be the finishing move.

What shook the Straw Hat captain was the immense sensation of pain in his arm as soon as he threw the punch. His crew were left in disbelief, struggling to process at what occurred.

"H-he caught it!" Robin stammered in fear.

Luffy was too preoccupied by the extreme pain from his arm to question how the hell his opponent caught his jet pistol. The rubber man groaned in agony, blood seeped out of the area confined by Takumi's pincer.

Mustering all his strength to disregard the pain, Luffy bit his lip, withdrew his free arm and launched another punch aimed directly at the red haired man's face.

Cries of fist clenching anguish rang in the ears those in attendance. Takumi had caught and immobilised Luffy's other arm, quickly changing the golden sand beneath to rose red.

The immense pain had token over Luffy's ability to process any form of cognition. Centimetre by centimetre, Takumi's razor sharp pincers dug deeper into his arms.

Spreading Luffy's arms out wide, Takumi slowly positioned his stinger above his head in preparation to subdue the 400 million beli man. Chuckling cockily, Takumi chuckled mockingly. "Is this the best that the great Monkey D. Luffy has to offer? Well I for one am truly disappointed."

Said man ignored all sensation of torture to lift an eye lid. "Bastard- AHH!" Luffy unleashed an ear melting scream as a response to the tightening of the pincers wrapped around his arm.

Slowly recovering from the initial pain, the Straw Hat captain continued his sentence. "Don't think… you've won just yet. T-this is far from over."

Sighing in disillusionment, Takumi shook his head. "Considering the situation, still you believe in your ridiculous ideas that you can beat me. Your defeat was inevitable as soon as you stepped a foot on this island."

Shrugging cockily with a victorious smile, Takumi spoke once more "If only you surrendered sooner, I may have shown some mercy and let your nakamas live." He lied unconvincingly. "But I guess now I have no choice, don't worry though, you'll be seeing them in the other side soon enough."

The remaining Mugiwara pirates stood frantic as they watched helplessly at their distressed captain. Each cry of agony felt like a knife diving deeper into their stomachs. The fact that Takumi was openly taunting Luffy enraged several individuals, and Naruto was one of them.

He may have been the newest member but he'd grown fond of his new friends, especially Luffy who was like a mirror image of himself in so many ways. So standing idly feeling useless while Luffy suffers wasn't something Naruto could accept so easily.

Toughening the grip on his sword, Naruto readied himself to remove Takumi's arms off his body, Naruto grated his teeth and took a footstep forward.

But his plans were abruptly interrupted by the hand of his fellow blonde. "Don't. Luffy's fine."

Naruto snapped, questioning Sanji's sanity. "What the hell are you talking about?! He's seconds away from being killed and we're standing here doing nothing about it, why aren't we helping him?!"

Although they didn't show it, several of his crew mates shared Naruto's feelings. The only difference was that they knew Luffy, they knew that he's been in far worse situation than this and escaped victoriously.

"Sanji-san is right, Luffy will be alright, and you'll see soon Naruto-san" Brook reassured confidently.

Despite the relieving comment by his friend, Naruto remained sceptical. However, taking a closer inspection at their unwavering faces, the blond reluctantly conformed in believing in the strength of his captain.

Luffy desperately squirmed trying to free himself from Takumi's grip. But the red headed bounty hunter had his fill in taunting the rubber man, he steadied his stinger and aimed for Luffy's heart. "I thought I told you already, resisting is pointless." He said uninterestedly. "Would you like to say a few last words to your nakamas before you depart this world?"

Luffy ceased his wriggling and cries of pain. "Armament Hardening." He whispered to himself.

Takumi lifted an eye brow as his targets right leg darkened.

"Gomu Gomu No – Jet Battle Axe!"

In a blink of an eye Luffy's earth shattering attack crashed down upon Takumi's skull releasing his hostage in the process. Luffy took several unbalanced backward steps while the bounty hunter savoured the taste of sand.

The immense pain coursed throughout Takumi's body, every single nerve felt as if it'd been lit on fire. This sensation was foreign to him in this form, he hailed his armoured skin to be the ultimate defence to any devil fruit user which is the reason why he loved to mock his targets before eliminated them.

Assembling everything his body had to offer, Takumi slowly picked himself off the sand, his body strangely felt heavier while his knees threatened to cave in at any moment.

Takumi's overconfidence lead him to believe he could take his eyes off Luffy. "I got to give it to you Mugiwara, not a lot of people have ever pushed me this far." He finally rook a glance at his rubber adversary. "You should be proud of yours- what the hell is that?!"

"Gomu Gomu no – Red Hawk!"

Luffy's fire encased fist buried itself in the scorpion man's stomach with cataclysmic force, shattering his opponent's armoured skin into tiny pieces. Spluttering blood at initial contact, Takumi was sent flying at the opposite direct as the attack scorched his abdominals, receiving amounts pain that the bounty hunter never thought possible.

Relieved smiles elevated on faces of nine individuals while Naruto mentally slapped himself for ever doubting his captain.

Luffy stood weakly, clearly fatigued from him battle and excessive loss of blood. His breath was heavy, his knees felt exhausted from the prolong use of second gear while blood continued to pour down his arms. Luffy left his crew questioning when he started to walk over to the damaged body of Takumi.

Standing over the near unconscious, human form bounty hunter, Luffy noticed he hadn't had the strength to fight any further. His attack seared Takumi's stomach to an extent making even moving difficult, but that didn't stop the scorpion man from trying.

Using every last bit of power he had left, Takumi groaned aggressively as he attempted to return to his feet. But the immense aching in his body could only allow him to rest on one knee. He clenched one of his fist with sand knowing he lost this fight.

"Do it." He spoke defeated.

"Do what?" Luffy questioned.

"Kill me, I know you want to, so just hurry up with it already."

Luffy looked down on the bounty hunter with hard eyes. "Even though you threatened my friends, I don't want to kill you." Turning around and walking back to his crew, Luffy spoke again. "Get out of this Island and leave us alone."

His commanding tone scared even some of his nakamas.

Receiving orders and mercy from a pirate infuriated the bounty hunter, he gritted his teeth together before struggling to his feet. His actions didn't go unnoticed by the Straw Hat captain, but Luffy believed the bounty hunter was fulfilling his instructions.

Takumi felt a whole new batch of hatred flood his system, he couldn't fathom how he lost to a naïve brat. Watching the retreating back of his target, Takumi silently utilised his devil fruit powers to grow his armoured stinger. _'Time to die, Mugiwara!'_

Luffy's face splitting grin directed to his friends was quickly exchanged for one of confusion when out of nowhere, Naruto Shunshined leaving only streaks of black lightning in his place and Zoro dashing past him like a green human sized bullet.

Luffy's eyes quickly followed Zoro's direction only to find his first mate hovering the tip of his sword inches away from Takumi's heart and Naruto stood behind the red headed man with his blade pressed against his throat.

"I'm not sure you heard him correctly." Naruto whispered.

Zoro continued. "My captain told you to leave. But I think a disgraceful piece off trash like you doesn't deserve such a generous punishment, what do you think, Naruto?"

"I totally agree." The blond replied as wide eyed Takumi choked on his words. "But Luffy made himself clear, leave this island or you'll have to deal with us." Naruto warned with frightening killing intent.

Takumi's surprised, choked up face quickly shifted to a beaten smirk. "Fine, I'll admit defeat and leave." Naruto and Zoro slowly and reluctantly retracted their swords.

To everyone's confusion, Takumi released a sinister snicker as he turned around to make his retreat. "However, you should enjoy your victory while it lasts, because setting foot on this island means you have all signed your death wish."

Usopp felt a bead of sweat drop down his neck while Chopper and Nami gulped nervously.

"Good luck getting out of here alive." Takumi finished. He paced down the beach to return back to his ship. The pirates kept their stares on the back of the bounty hunter for a while until his figure disappeared in the distance.

Nami sighed intensely, relieved the fight was over and no one was seriously hurt. She looked over to inspect Luffy's condition only to find him smiling childishly and rubbing his stomach.

"Oohhh that was a close one." He giggle to himself. "Sanji! Is there any food le-"

A sudden wave of dizziness stopped the captain in is tracks, his knees caved and body dumped itself on the sand.

"Luffy!" The Straw Hats shrieked in fright.

His nakamas rushed to his aid with Chopper being the first to arrive. Flipping Luffy on his back, the doctor administrated his examination.

"Oi Chopper what's wrong with him, he looked alright just a second ago!?" Asked by an anxious Zoro.

"He's lost so much blood, but I can't begin his treatment here. We need to get him back on the ship!"

_Later that day._

Several hours had passed since the threatening scare to Luffy's life, Chopper did everything medicinally possible to get him to a stable state but the doctor wasn't certain when he would wake up, it could be 2 hours or 2 days, Luffy has always been so unpredictable.

Although it was a scare, the remaining Straw Hats were confident in their captain's full recovery. However, as Naruto rested on his bed, fingers interlocked behind his head. Only one thought came to mind.

_'You should enjoy your victory while it lasts, because setting foot on this island means you have all signed your death wish.'_

The final few words of Takumi left a bitter taste in Naruto's mouth. The blond had received such intimidating lines before but most turned out to be empty threats by scared cowards. But the manner in which Takumi spoke those words, Naruto couldn't help but sense some truth within them.

'_What did he mean by signing our death wish? What does he know about this island that we don't?' _

Naruto was abruptly cast out of his thoughts by the sound of an opening door. Sitting up to make himself presentable, he noticed his visitor was none other than the orange haired navigator.

"Oh hey Nami, what's up?"

She addressed him with a wave and a cheerful smile. "Sanji-kun said dinner is ready and he asked me to get you, also you're never going to believe who's awake."

"Luffy's awake!?" He answered. "Damn, he heals as fast as me?"

Nami laughed at the comment. "I doubt it, I'm sure he just smelt the food, you should have seen him running into the kitchen fully bandaged, drooling and everything."

Nodding his head in agreement, Naruto stepped out of bed to meet Nami by the door. "Sounds like something Luffy would do." His eyes flared up with curiosity. "Let's go, I gotta to see this with my own eyes."

_Kitchen/Dining Room. _

It was yet again another mundane evening on the Thousand Sunny, at the dining table sat eight pirates who had begun their meals. Robin mentally giggled to herself at how normal everything seemed despite the ominous warning from the bounty hunter.

Her attention was swiftly redirected to the door as Naruto and Nami entered the room.

"Ohh! You really are awake." Naruto stated astonished. He noticed Luffy's damaged arms wrapped tightly in bandages.

Mid-chew Luffy mumbled an incoherent sentence, after swallowing and releasing a satisfied sigh, he replied happily. "Yup, no amount of injuries are going to stop me from eating meat!"

"Nothing on this planet can stop you from eating meat, baka." Nami interjected while she and Naruto took a seat next to each other across the table from Robin.

The Straw Hats ate peacefully, enjoying each other's company and conversations like any other day.

The raven haired women smiled happily for her roommate as she watched Nami becoming frustrated at Naruto for stealing food out of her plate while he acted innocent and laughed it off. _'Seems like those two are really hitting it off. _

"Stop taking my food you idiot!"

"Ehh? But it wasn't me that time, blame Luffy!"

_'I'm so happy for you Nami.' _

Since it was meant to be a secret, Robin had never confronted Nami about her secret relationship with Luffy. It was something she planned to bring up but never knew how to initiate.

However, one thing Robin did remember was how upset she was at the night before they docked at Sabaody Archipelago. Nami never explained why she was upset that night, but she didn't need to. Robin instinctually knew and she feared Nami would never find the true love that she deserves. If Luffy wasn't the one, then who was?

But now seeing her so cheerful and full of life, brought new hope that warmed the heart of the archaeologist.

But her mood soon shifted as she turned her attention onto the swordsman who sat next to the former Leaf shinobi. Zoro ate his meal quietly, he hadn't spoken in a while but he wasn't a man with many words to begin with.

Robin gazed upon his tough manly face with uninterpretable feelings. All the memories they shared came flooding back at once, most were from their undisclosed sexual acts but some were genuinely sweet moments, moments after their physical urges were answered they would have endless random talks and side-splitting laughter until the sun rose.

She couldn't answer for him, but for her, those moments were the first time she felt anything even close to a real relationship. A complete mystery it may be but what was certain was that Robin enjoyed those times. It had her questioning her true feelings for Zoro, whether he felt the same as she did or is their relationship nothing but physical.

_ 'I really need to talk to him about us. Whatever the 'us' means, I want to know.' _


	7. Favourite Navigator

**WARNING - Lemon up ahead and please READ THE ENTIRE CHAPTER BEFORE JUDGING, IT WILL ALL MAKE SENSE.**

The candle lit room of the ladies chambers was taken over by the sound of pen on paper as Nami was busy working on yet another map for her collection. She would always lose herself in excitement whenever she got close to finishing a project, so much so that she would loss all her sense of time and would accidentally work till sun rise.

And that night was no different, until her drawing was forced to a sudden stop when she heard the opening of her bedroom door. Twisting on her seat to see her uninvited visitor, Nami experienced a rush of heart racing excitement but also a hint of confusion when acknowledging the intruder was none other than her not so secret crush.

"N-Naruto!? W-what are you doing here so late?" She asked flustered, taking in the cuteness of Naruto in his black bedroom shorts and white T-shirt.

The blond leaned on the door frame with his hands in his pockets. He smiled innocently and playfully shrugged his shoulders before responding. "I don't know why but no matter how hard I tired I couldn't fall to sleep. And knowing you and your love for drawing maps, I guessed you were the only one else on this ship who'd still be awake at this time." He explained. "So I thought I could surprise my favourite navigator with a late night visit." He grinned innocently.

She blushed instantly at his sudden flattery. But, the hint of tease in his voice spoilt her joy. "Baka, I'm the only navigator you know, that only makes me your favourite through technicality," She repositioned herself to face her work desk and snorted playfully.

Naruto crossed his arms and decided to play along with her little game. "Oh come on Nami, you know what I meant." He clapped his hands together and spoke like pleading child. "Pwease will you let me in so I can spend time with the best Navigator in the world? I'd be lonely out here if you don't."

Although she took pleasure in his comments and even found his pleading voice adorable, there was no way in hell she would want him to think he could win her over so easily. "Alright fine, you can come in." She redirected her attention on the man at her door. "But make sure you're quiet, I'm almost done here and I don't want to mess it all up because of you." She commanded.

A faint smile grew on Naruto's face before he pinched his fingers and placed it on the edge of his lips and zipping his mouth shut.

Nami was unable to suppress a light giggle before she shook her head and continued back to her map. "Come on in then, baka." She said with a giggle.

Naruto slowly entered the orange haired women's room. An eye brow lifted seeing a missing figure on the neatly made bed across the room. "Where's Robin?"

Nami grabbed her pen which was next to the candle. "Crow's nest. She's on watch tonight." The busty girl replied whilst continuing where she left off.

Naruto soon found himself behind the navigator's wooden chair, he placed his hands on the back of the chair and leaned over one of her shoulders to gain a better view of her masterpiece. Enjoying the contact between his hands and the soft texture of her white buttoned shirt, he looked past her long orange hair only to be amazed by the sight below.

Sheets of completed maps, books on islands, a single tangerine, a pinwheel, pens, rulers and many other tools were scattered all over her table. He smiled brightly thinking this table was the perfect representation of the women below him.

Nami's heart began to flutter from the sudden contact and closeness. She gripped her pen so hard that she nearly broke it. _'How am I going to draw like this when he's so close.'_

Naruto leaned even closer to inspect her work in greater detail. An unconscious twitch ran down Nami's body as Naruto's face came inches away from hers. Noticing that his attention was on her maps, Nami took the opportunity to study her late night visitor. She had never seen him so up close before, so with a rosy red cheeks, she nervously redirected her eyes to Naruto's face.

And what she saw nearly took her breath away, his bright blue eyes twinkled beautifully against the candle light, the tips of his hair was long enough to cover parts of his eyebrows, his angelic face seemed much toner than usual, and even his whisker marked cheeks looked more adorable. Nami wondered to herself at how she missed those certain features of his face despite seeing it every day.

As she continued her keen observation, Nami noticed something within her suddenly trigger, an emotion she rarely ever felt in her life. Her body temperature started to rise as her knees slowly weakened, the sudden urge of need relentlessly flooded her system.

"These are amazing, Nami. The detail, the accuracy, the artistry, they're all incredible. It's a shame you're not a kunoichi because your skills in drawing terrain would come in handy for any village."

Naruto's smiling face shifted to meet Nami's.

Despite his praising comments, Nami kept her unusual silence. Her focus was now solely on those dazzling eyes she was so fond of. The longer she gazed at him the more intense her desires became.

Naruto instantly saw something different in her eyes, it was a look he had never seen in a woman before. Call it instincts but something within him told the blond everything he needed to know.

Feeling the contact, the closeness and shift of atmosphere, he knew what she wanted, and he wanted it too.

Hormones stormed Naruto's body as his sudden longing to feel her lips magnified to an unmeasurable feat. Their eyes locked onto one another with anticipation and the heart racing need for her was too much to contain for the blond at this point. Centimetre by agonising centimetre he closed the distance between their lips at excruciating speeds.

The hunger in Nami's chest drove her to meet his lips half way for a slow but mind racing kiss. Nami felt butterflies in her stomach as her lips gently caressed his.

Their warm lips embraced each other yet again. It had been nearly a month since their last encounter and this kiss exposed how much they've truly missed each other.

Hearts pumped harder, adrenaline coursed through their bodies in excitement and wonder. Their hunger for each other deepened as the kiss intensified. Unsatisfied with the awkward positioning, Nami shifted her seat so that her body faced him directly whilst her hands unconsciously moved up to his face. She placed a hand on his cheek and gently rubbed it with the pad of her thumb whereas her remaining hand found itself gripping a handful of hair on the back of his head.

Naruto replicated her actions and placed a hand behind her head to deepen their connection. The two soon found themselves assaulting the other's mouth in an attempt to heighten the sensation of wonderful bliss.

A delightful shock ran down Nami's spine from the sudden hand on her bare thigh. She unleashed a seductive moan as a second hand caressed her other thigh breaking their kiss in the process.

The girl grew a questioning look when Naruto's hands travelled to a place she didn't anticipate. Grabbing the back of her thighs, the blond suddenly lifted her up to his waist, Nami released a squeak of excitement as she wrapped her arms around his neck and legs around his body.

With the navigator clung to his frame, Naruto spun around took a seat on her wooden chair. Enjoying the new naughtier position, she let her legs lay on his sides and used her hands to scrunch handfuls of his long golden hair. Forehead to forehead, they took a few heart racing moments to stare deep within each other's eyes before they smashed their lips once again.

Slyly feeling something hot and wet against her bottom lip, Nami groaned in longing as she immediately granted him entrance to her waiting mouth. The tip of their tongues first tormented one another with slow teasing flicks, but it wasn't long until they ruthlessly twirled against each other in perfect harmony.

Naruto's hands wandered from her thighs, to her hips and then under her shirt, up lower back till they eventually reached behind her shoulder blades. Everywhere his hands journeyed, they left a tingling sensation on Nami's skin. His touch including the tongue in her mouth was about to send her over the edge to indulge into her deepest desires until, a small alarm sounded in her head.

Nami suddenly withdrew her tongue but maintained the fast paced kiss. Naruto reluctantly withdrew his and followed her lead.

"What are we-" she questioned mid-kiss. "doing?"

"I don't-" He replied with his lips infused with hers. "Know."

"We should – really – stop now – right?"

Naruto unconsciously tightened his hold on her. "Yeah - we really - should."

She hardened her grip on his hair and surprised the blond by pushing her tongue into his mouth. After several moments of hungry but passionate kissing, Naruto withdrew his tongue once again. "Bed?"

Nami nodded enthusiastically while their lips remained connected.

The next thing the busty women knew she was being lifted up from her seat, hanging on to Naruto's muscular body and bouncing across the room to her queen sized bed. Nami released a teasing giggle at Naruto's eagerness as she was gently laid on her back.

Wanting to stop her laughter, Naruto interlocked their legs and connected their lips together once again for another mind melting kiss. Longing to make her moan, he place a hand on her shirt covered breast and squeezed it gently whilst planting soft kisses from the edge of her lips, to her cheek, jaw and then finally the bottom of her neck.

The girl moaned in lust under his administration, experiencing new heights of excitement she never thought possible. His hand continued its assault on her mound as he kissed her neck. Nami clenched her fists into his hair and pressed his head down to her neck to signal her excitement. It was only then she realised how soaking wet her panties had become.

Although she wasn't wearing a bra, Naruto had enough with her shirt limiting their fun. Nami ended her moaning and instantly froze noticing his hand moved to the buttons on her shirt. The blond simultaneously undid a couple of her buttons while moving to down kiss her collarbone.

But as he finished with her last button, Nami released his hair to keep her shirt covering self. She looked embarrassed and avoided eye contact.

Naruto withdrew his lips from her collarbone to realise her sudden shift in character. He mentally questioned where all the confidence she displayed earlier disappeared to.

"Nami, what's wrong?" He asked worryingly.

Her flustered face refused to meet his. "I-it's... just, um"

Noticing her nervous state, Naruto assumed her answer. "Hey, if you think we're rushing things too fast we can stop right now you know, we don't have to do anything tonight."

She gave a faint smile from his reassuring words. "No it's not that it's just, well um, I-"

An eye popping thought sprung from Naruto's head. "Wait a minute, you're not telling me you're a virgin are you?" He asked carefully.

Nami grew several shades redder, she bit lip and switched her attention to anywhere else but his face. She felt totally mortified being a 20 year old virgin.

The blond shook his head and chuckled light heartedly, he pinched her chin and leaned forward to meet her in the eyes. "Nami, please look at me." He asked softly.

She obeyed reluctantly and waiting nervously.

"There's no shame in being a virgin, I actually find it quite cute." He confessed happily. "If you still want to do this then I promise, we can take it slow."

His comforting words triggered something within her. She couldn't explain herself but it made her question why she hesitated in the first place. She trusted him and that's all that mattered. Nodding in acceptance, Nami made her choice.

A faint smile developed on the blond's face. "Okay, but are you sure about me being your first? I mean-"

His sentence was cut short by a soft giggle from below. Nami gracefully pushed herself up to sit up right whereas Naruto leaned away to give her room. She took the edges of her shirt and slowly slid them over her shoulder.

Wide-eyed, Naruto stuttered in amazement watching the navigator slowly strip her shirt from her mouth-watering body. Removing her final sleeve, Nami gently threw the garment at a random direction. She placed her hands behind her and leaned back to allow Naruto to gain a full view.

The blond sat on his knees by Nami's feet completely mesmerised by her endless beauty. Bits of orange hair laid on her naked chest slightly hiding parts of her pink erect nipples. But it wasn't just her perfectly round breasts that caught his eye, her angelic face radiated absolute confidence and her overlapping legs looked so inviting it took all his willpower not to take her then and there. But the only thing that was depriving him from complete visual satisfaction was her tiny pink hot pants that barely cover anything but everything.

Nami leaned forward to sit on her knees similar to Naruto. She placed her lips mere centimetres away from his. Playing with the helm of his white T-shirt, she looked up to meet his eyes. "Baka, Of course I'm sure. I wouldn't have gone this far already if I wasn't." She whispered with poise. Her fingers pinched and tug his shirt. "Now are you just going to stare at me all night or are you going to take this off. It's not fair that I'm the only one topless you know?"

Smirking in satisfaction, Naruto obeyed and enthusiastically removed his shirt. The quick removal of the garment indicated his eagerness.

Throwing the shirt at a random location, it was Nami's turn to be mesmerised. She took a good, long look at his perfectly sculpted body before throwing her arms over his shoulders to infuse her lips with his.

Their hands studied every inch of their partner's body. Caressing Naruto's chest and abs triggered a whole new wave of juices that made Nami's panties even wetter. The blond kneaded one of her nipples with his fingers whilst pushing his tongue inside her mouth. He snaked his free hand around her waist to grab her tight but full ass, creating a large visible bulge in his shorts in the process.

Nami slid her hand from the middle of his chest, down to his chiselled abs to finally grab a handful of his twitching bulge.

Naruto broke their kiss and groaned deeply in response to the sudden attention to his private area. Nami gently trapped his bottom lip with her teeth before looking up on him with lustful eyes and giggling softly.

The blond winced as she tightened her hold on his male appendix. "Have I mentioned how much I wove your conwidence." He muffled nervously.

She glided her hand up and down his arousal at teasing speeds. Never having felt one before, Nami wanted a good feel of the thing she desired most. Her spine tingled with lust and fear of how long and thick the piece of meat in her hand was.

Giving his cock one final stroke and sucking his bottom lips only to release it with a loud pop, Nami slowly laid on her back with slightly opened legs and stretched out her welcoming arms. "Come here and take me. I'm all yours... I don't just mean tonight." She whispered seductively.

With a thumping heart and twitching penis, Naruto gulped before moving himself on top of her, an act of acceptance to her invitation. They shared a single moan as their genitals rubbed against one another.

Grabbing her right breast with urgency, Naruto quickly connected their lips with tenderness. She kneaded her fingers into his hair whilst loving his administration on her body. The blond suddenly broke their kiss to slide down her body to land open mouthed tongue kisses from her jaw, neck, upper breast till he finally reaching her nipple.

Whilst groping one of her breast, he noticed how cute, pink and erect her free nipple is and bit his lip in anticipation. Nami's head dug deeper into her pillow as without warning Naruto sucked her bud into his mouth.

The tip of his tongue circled her excited nipple while he strengthened his massage on her other breast. Her moans became louder and her grip on his hair intensified. She placed her other hand on top of his to direct him the way she liked it.

The two continued their rubbing whilst Naruto licked and sucked her nipple with everything he knew. Enjoying the foreign feeling, Nami was moments away from getting used to it, until Naruto gave a final forceful suck on her nipple. Releasing both her breasts, the blond gazed up to see her face overloading with lust, anticipation and nervousness all rolled up into one big emotion.

He formed a triumphant smirk knowing how much she was enjoying his work. Naruto inch by inch kissed his way down leaving a trail of wet patches on her toned stomach, stopping upon reaching below her belly button.

Nami's heart beat raced faster than she had ever felt before. She could no longer contain her lustful desires and seeing his head in between her legs was pushing her over the edge. Nervously playing with the surface of her breast, Nami anxiously waited for the inevitable waves of pleasure.

Naruto hooked his fingers under her hot pants and underwear before looking up at her with soft eyes. Understanding that look, she gave him a small nod to give him permission.

Nami arched her back to aid him in the removal of her clothes, although she hid it well, her thoughts were in disarray as inch by inch he pulled off her final layers.

Laying back down, her underwear shared a similar fate to the other unwanted clothes, dumped on the wooden floor without a second thought.

She instinctually touched her knees together to obstruct his view of her precious parts, she knew she wanted him but it was the first time a man had ever seen her this way before and her shyness was quickly resurfacing.

Naruto place his hands on the top of her knees and gently pushed them apart, she reluctantly followed his lead and slowly opened her legs for him.

A small curl formed on the edge of his lips seeing her pussy glistening with her own juices revealing just how much she's longing him. Taking a good look at her arousal, Naruto lifted an eyebrow at the neat little patch of hair above her clit.

"So you are a natural orange." He teased the girl.

The said girl blushed uncontrollable. "B-baka! D-don't say things like that. And don't just sit there, do...something." She covered her flustered face with her hands.

Smirking happily, Naruto widened her legs even further and lowered himself in between her legs. He teased her with small kisses down her inner thigh, sending jolts of moan inducing pleasure down Nami's spine.

The blond soon found himself a lick away from her erected clit. With his arms wrapped around her smooth thighs, Naruto his blue eyes met hers once again.

"You ready?"

She uncovered her face, shut her eyes and pressed her head down on her pillow. "Yes." Her words melted with acceptance.

Satisfied with her answer, his tongue immediately went to work on her clit. Long, slow strokes up and down her wet arousal widened Nami's eyes like never before. Loving the sweet taste and mind numbing smell of her juices, Naruto gradually increased the speed of his strokes and placed his lips around her clit.

Toe curling pleasure rushed into her system as her hands shot down and squeezed his golden hair. The blond skilfully switched from full strokes to gentle sucks whilst moaning on her core. The vibrations from his moans sent Nami to a whole new level of sexual pleasure. Her back arched trying to push her wet clit into his mouth, her hands scrunching the bed sheets and every lust coated moan that escaped her lips intensified.

Wanting more of Nami's pleasant moans, Naruto used the surface of his tongue and rotated it in a circular motion whilst sucking the clit.

Much to his delight, Nami unleashed a long sinful moan that threatened to wake up everyone else on the ship. But she couldn't care one bit as she was too busy enjoying his work to be worried about others. Her attention was on him and his mouth, so much so she soon lost her sense of time. No longer did she know how long she had been riding the waves of erotic bliss.

_'Ohh it's too much, his tongue is too good. He hasn't even put anything inside me yet but I feel like I'm gonna cum any second now – Oh my God!'_

Sensing her twitching legs and heavy breathing, Naruto suddenly increased the speed and intensity of his sucks and strokes.

Her body temperature heightened to an unbearable amount and every muscle in her being tightened. "Oh God… this is it…. I'm gonna…. Naruto-kun!"

[GASP]

Nami shot up from her bed with a sweat glazed body, thumping heart and a racing mind. Her eyes stung from the brightness in her room, it was morning. It took her several moments to figure out what had happened.

_'A dream? A dream about Naruto!' She looked down at her moist palms. 'It was a dream right? But how come it felt so real?'_

A deep blush developed on her cheeks as she touched her thighs and noticed the absence of the blond but also the wetness between her legs. _'I can't believe I got this excited over a dream, no one can ever know about this especially, Naruto.'_

"Did you have fun?" A playful voice announced itself out of nowhere.

The navigator shrieked in astonishment before following the direction of the voice. What she saw was a smiling, legs crossed Robin, elbow on her thigh and hand on her cheek sitting on the edge of her bed across the room.

"R-Robin!"

Said women kept her mischievous smile.

"W-what do you um… mean by have fun?" Nami stuttered nervously. _'I hope she didn't see anything.'_

"Oh nothing." Robin replied playfully whilst standing up and walking to the door. "But you better get dressed soon since breakfast is almost ready." The archaeologist advised. "And I'm sure you don't want to keep _Naruto-kun_ waiting."

Nami narrowed her eyes before the final moments of her dream came rushing back, instantly growing several shades of red. "Robiinnnn!" She yelled frantically before throwing a pillow at the door then cocooning herself with her bed sheet.

_Kitchen/Dining room_

Taking a deep breath, Nami pressed a hand against the door. _'Stay calm, remember it was just a dream. Don't do anything unusual otherwise the others will start asking questions.'_

Nervously entering kitchen room, the busty women was addressed with the normal scene she expected from a regular morning. Her friends sitting around the long table whilst undergoing individual conversations. She smiled at the normality.

But that smile was short lived as she spotted her blond dream invader.

Naruto forced an unconvincing smile while listening to another 'captain Usopp' story.

Red as a rose, Nami took the only available seat across the two men.

"And that's when I told him, if you ever cross me again, you'll have to go through my crew of eight thousand strong!"

"Wooowww!" Chopper admired enthusiastically.

"That's one hell of a story you got there, Usopp." Naruto added sweat dropping down his neck.

Orange then dominated the Jinchuuriki's peripherals. "Oh you're finally up! Morning Nami."

His voice sent jolts of anxiety down her spine. "Huh? What?! Um, y-yeah morning N-Naruto." She stammered.

On the other end of the table, a raven haired archaeologist giggled silently.

"Good morning Nami!" Chopper and Usopp said with questioning faces. Her face was flustered and her usual aura of confidence wasn't there, they had never seen her like that before.

"G-good morning guys." She replied nervously.

"Nami-swan!" Sanji interjected mercifully. "Here, I made this extra special for you, my queen." The cook placed a beautifully decorated plate of fruits in front of Nami.

"T-thank you, Sanji-kun." She retorted feeling relieved that she had something to focus her attention to.

_'Get a hold of yourself everybody's noticing!' _Flushed cheek Nami scolded herself_. 'It was just a dream, forget about it and act normal for heaven's sake... but just hearing his voice, looking at his face, those eyes, his lips...'_

Watching the navigator digging into her meal, Naruto poked the long nosed man next to him. After gaining Usopp's attention, with scrunched eye brows, the blond nudged his head to Nami's direction.

Understanding his silent question, Usopp replied with a clueless shrug.

Naruto returned his sights on the strangely distant navigator. _'Mm she's acting weird today, I wonder what's wrong?'_

Unfortunately for the former shinobi, Sanji spoke up before he could question her. "Alright guys, now that we're all here, after everything that happened yesterday I think it would be better to go into this island together rather than splitting up like we usually do."

"I can't believe I'm going to say this but I agree with the cook. I didn't like the way Takumi warned us about this island, the way he said it... there's something going on here." Zoro added whilst shocking his crew mates.

"Ow! I second that notion." Franky chipped in.

"Yeah me too!" Chopper replied anxiously.

Sanji shot his gaze to his chewing captain. "What do you think, Luffy?"

Said man gulped his food_. _"Sure, why not?"

_Later that day_

The Straw Hats were uncertain at what to expect entering the mysterious island named Tesa, but what was certain was the itching feeling of anticipation in the bottom of their stomachs. Every step was calculated, all senses were heightened, and everyone was on high alert. But after some time wondering around city of Traid, this supposedly deadly island had Luffy and his crew questioning the truth behind Takumi's warning.

Tesa wasn't a land plagued with death and disease, it was a warm, modern place filled with hard working citizens and peaceful communities. Luscious green hills dominated the outskirts of the island, tree's growing several types of fruits scattered the business infested streets. A wonderful sensation of home sparked within Naruto as certain aspects of this triangular shaped city reminded him of Konoha.

Absorbing the peacefulness of their new surroundings, slowly but surely, the majority of the Straw Hats' fears and questions were swept away and regarded Takumi's final threat as nothing more than cowardly lies.

After a couple hours of their uneventful wondering, most of the pirates had learned to relax and enjoy their time instead of worrying over nothing, all but three.

Walking with his cheerful nakama in silence, Naruto noticed Robin's and Zoro's uneasy faces.

"Zoro, you see what I see?" The blond whispered.

"Yeah"

"Robin?"

The archaeologist nodded in agreement.

Sanji's skilful senses quickly spotted their quiet conversation. He stopped his stride consequently stopping the others, "Oi, what's going on?"

The rest drew their questioning attentions on Robin, Zoro and the two blondes.

"Hey why are we stopping?" Nami asked dubiously.

Naruto checked his surroundings before replying, "You guys haven't noticed them?"

"Ow! Noticed who?" Franky repeated.

"They're everywhere, lots of them." Robin added, sending chills down her nakama's

The captain scrunched his eye brows, "Lots of who?!"

"Not who, captain, what." Zoro answered.

Usopp lost his patience, "Huh?! What are you guys talkin-"

"Missing posters." Naruto interrupted. "I've seen at least a hundred of them."

Robin stepped up. "And that's far too many to be anything normal."

Zoro gazed upon the peaceful street he stood on, "That means something or someone are taking the people of this island."

**Authors Note** - I know most of the chapter was a dream but I really wanted to make a Naru/Nami lemon but since it's too soon in the story for that, it had to be a dream. Next chapter will be up in a few weeks . Big thank you to **Skg1991**


	8. Troubles In Tesa

**AN**/ Sorry that this chapter took a little longer than the rest, I've had a lot of uni work recently so that's why it's been delayed. Well anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter.

"You guys really haven't noticed all these posters of missing people?" Asked the green haired swordsman.

The crew suspiciously checked their surroundings but the scene seemed far too normal to indicate something odd had happened. The streets were clean and people were going on with their usual lives, however, there was one thing Sanji kept noticing from the corner of his eye.

"Now that you mentioned it…"

Turning to her left, Nami spotted a single sheet of paper with big red words for a heading stuck on lamp post. She departed from her group to take a closer inspection.

Her crew mates questioned her actions as they watched the navigator walk off to the lamp post nearby. Not knowing what to expect, they quickly followed her to check whatever it was that caught her attention.

Gathering and acknowledging the paper, it was indeed a poster of a missing person, a 25 year old man with a wife and two children, who are desperate in finding their loved one.

Naruto was the first to speak up. "This must have something to do with Takumi's warning, I don't see how it couldn't."

Nami nodded in agreement. "We need to be careful and not draw too much attention to ourselves otherwise any one of us can end up on these posters."

The remaining crew members took a moment to internalise Nami's notion. But before anyone could reply, a faint voice originating from around the corner echoed the streets. Judging by the fading voice it was obvious that this person was yelling.

Taking interest in the new development, the Straw Hats decided to follow the mysterious voice. With each step, the voice became more audible, certain words became more interpretable and it was soon obvious the shouting voice came from a pleading women.

Successfully tracking the location of the voice, the pirates found themselves in what appeared to be a town square behind a large group of audience listening to a women standing on a wooden box with another group of men, women and children holding signs and banners.

"We need to find them! Those men were your friends, family members, neighbours, colleagues and fellow citizen. We can't give up on them!" Screamed the original voice.

Standing next to an older citizen, Sanji lit a cigarette, inhaled and puffed. "What's happening here?" He asked the man.

Without acknowledging the cook's presence, the said man replied. "Another rally, that women and the people behind her with the banners are all victims to what happened a month ago."

"Victims?" Sanji repeated. "What happened a month ago?"

"What happened?!" The man questioned dubiously. "Where have you been living all this time son under a rock or something?"

Puffing another fog of smoke was Sanji's response.

The elder man continued. "Well if you really want to know… last month, over one hundred men suddenly disappeared. Overnight."

The shock from the news nearly made him drop the cigarette in his hand. His other crew members were also in stunned but wanted to keep quite in order to listen to the pleading women and the rest of Sanji's conversation.

"People don't just disappear into thin air! I am begging each and every one of you to help us in finding them!"

Unsure what to say, Sanji stuttered anything he could muster. "H-H-How?"

"No one seems to know, unbelievable right. But that's what this peaceful island has to live with now." The old man finished.

"Anyone, please anyone, we need your support! We are so desperate…" The women pleaded on the verge of releasing a waterfall of tears.

"Why do you need us? What about the Marines? Isn't it their job to fix things like this?" A man from the audience questioned the women.

"The Marines have done nothing for us! Every time we ask for their help, they say they're sending their best men to investigate, but it's been a month now and have you seen any marine walking by?!" She spat in irritation and disgust.

A large number of the audience dropped their heads in shame, it's not that they didn't want to help, it was just that those men had been gone for such a long time, that they had lost hope that the men were still on the island or alive for that matter.

"We can no longer count on the Marines, by ignoring us in our time of need they have shown their true colours can't you see? The Marines are a selfish, self-centred organisation who only look after themselves and do whatever that only benefits them. That's why I'm placing my faith in you, the citizen of Tesa to find our missing friends, lovers, fathers…and my husband." The distressed lady whispered her last word as a single tear escaped her eyes.

Watching the emotional scene transpiring, Naruto instantly felt a trace of disgust towards the so called peace keepers of the sea. "Hey Zoro." He asked quietly but in a hard edge tone.

"Hmp?"

"The Marines, why haven't they done anything about this yet?" Naruto's voice grew with more disdain with every word.

Pondering on his question, the swordsman shook his head. "No idea, but this whole thing doesn't make any sense."

"No it doesn't Swordsman-san, the Marines usually don't leave an incident like this unturned especially in the New World." Robin added, feeling fearful for the people of the island.

The orange hair navigator who had been strangely silent all this time had just about enough, thinking about the potentially widowed women and their children who will grow up without experiencing the love of their fathers had broken her emotional limit. She may have seemed to have worn an unbreakable exterior but deep down she was the most sensitive Straw Hat, especially when it came to children. Her actions in Punk Hazard demonstrated that.

Without so much as a word of warning, Nami slowly peeled herself from her group before tears could fall. Her crew mates were quick to realise her disappearance.

Naruto was first to call her out, from the very beginning he suspected something was wrong, her odd behaviour at breakfast, being unusually distant and passive throughout the day and now this? He was determined to figure what she was thinking.

Just as he was about to chase her, he was stopped by a huge robotic hand.

"Give her some space for now, she needs it."

"But Franky…"

The cyborg shook his head. "If there's one thing I know about Nami is that there's so much more underneath her tough girl personality. I bet she's feeling down for all these kids who have lost their dads."

Naruto fixed his gaze to the remaining Straw Hats in search for some support but upon seeing their unmoving faces he unwillingly decided to listen to those who knew Nami best and conform to the group. Understanding a little more of her nature, Naruto watched her receding back in acceptance and worry. "I see." He replied sadly.

"But is it safe for her to go out on her own, I mean this isn't exactly the safest place in the world."

"She's a big girl who can look after herself, you don't need to be concerned Naruto-san." Robin replied with a smile. "She'll come back when she feels ready."

The blond nodded reluctantly. Even with his friend's reassurance, he wasn't so convinced on Nami's peculiar behaviour. Naruto was never the type to ignore his close friends when in he felt they were in need thus he decided to get to the bottom of the navigators endeavours.

"Well…" Zoro scratched the back of his head thinking the whole situation is troublesome.

"There's nothing we can do about Nami or whatever's going on here, so if you guys don't mind I'm going to pick up a few things on my own." He said before departing at a random direction.

A nerve popped on Sanji's forehead and yelled. "Oi Marimo! What happened to stay together as a group?!"

Zoro merely shrugged his shoulders to disregard the angered cook as he continued to draw distance.

Thinking the best opportunity to carry it his new formulated plan had arrived, Naruto jogged past his crew mates to catch up to the older swordsman. "Zoorrrooo! Wait up I'm coming too!" He yelled to his nakama.

Because Straw Hat after Straw Hat had opted to discount their plan of sticking together as a group, it didn't take very long for the rest to follow Nami, Naruto and Zoro's example and explore the island individually or small groups to quench their personal taste of entertainment. Luffy, Usopp and Chopper had wanted to return to a large food court they previously spotted to eat to their hearts' content. Sanji, Brook and Franky developed a great interest into the disappearance of civilians of this deceptively peaceful island and decided to stick around to talk to the victims of the tragedy. Last but not least, Robin took off on her own in search of the largest library she could find to extend the Sunny's own book collection. But as she walked on the streets of Tesa, she noticed how much easier it was to spot the tattered month old missing posters that littered the streets and her only thoughts were on the missing men and their concerned families.

_Half an Hour Later_

After some time of aimlessly following Zoro in finding a weapons shop, Naruto had begun to understand why everyone avoided Zoro when it came to directions. After half an hour the blond had detected why their search for a weapons shop was such a failure, it was because they had been walking around in circles and Zoro was too co-ordinately challenged to notice. Luckily however, the men's common interest into swords had kept them entertained during their travels.

"Do you mind me if I ask you a question?" Zoro asked curiously.

"No not at all go for it?"

Zoro took a glance at the black sheathed blade on Naruto's back. "Your katana? Is it cursed or something?" He asked bluntly.

Naruto chuckled nervously unsure whether that was an insult as Zoro continued.

"Just standing next to it I can already feel its presence, one of my katana is cursed and I can always feel its essence when it's with me but yours… I don't know it just feels different?" The one eyed man replied whilst gripped the purple handle of Shusui.

"Well… I don't know if I can call it cursed but let's just say it wasn't created like any ordinary sword." Naruto replied. "Yugao-sensei had me put some of mine and Kurama's chakra into the blade before it was finished. At the time I thought it was pretty pointless but I couldn't have been more wrong." Naruto finished with a giggle as he reminisced on his naivety of his younger years.

Narrowing his eyes as his curiosity reached its peak, Zoro fired another question. "Why? What happened after you added chakra to the blade?" He asked rather sceptically. Armed with very little knowledge of chakra, the older male found it difficult to understand how it could have made much of a difference.

Naruto smiled all knowingly before replying. "Let's just say that if anyone else apart from me tries to use this sword… they'll wish that they hadn't." He said with a cold hearted voice that could deliver goose bumps to anyone in the Alabasta desert.

Zoro's throat suddenly became dry as he shot his attention on the blade behind the blond's back. Although it was a vague answer, the Straw Hat first mate wasn't so sure if he wanted to dig deeper into the subject. All he knew was that under no circumstances was he ever going to touch that sword.

Satisfied that his threatening joke made its impact, Naruto chuckled to signify his amusement before noticing a distinctive shop with words 'Weapons' on the sign above the door from the corner of his eye.

Stopping his stride to gain Zoro's attention, Naruto pointed towards their desired location. '_This is the perfect chance for me to carry my plan and get out of here.'_

"Finally! I thought we was never going to find this place." Zoro spat with obvious irritation just as he made his way to the store.

However when he noticed that his newest nakamas was no longer following him, he turned around to question. "Oi Naruto what's wrong with you, let's go inside?"

Naruto gave a half smile whilst he nervously looked at anything apart from Zoro. "It- it's alright I'll be just a minute, I need to use the little boy's room." He chuckled hopelessly hoping he lied convincingly enough.

"Oh, you should have just said? I'll wait for you inside."

"Y-yeah." Was the last thing Naruto said before turning around in the opposite direction to get away from Zoro. Five minutes later the blond stumbled upon a small dark alley way that he found adequate to carry out his plan. After a final look to ensure no one was looking or had followed him, Naruto promptly summoned a single shadow clone. Since ninjutsu is an alien concept to the people of this world, he was going to make sure that all jutsus outside of battle was done as decrepitly as possible to avoid unwanted attention.

"Alright me, go back to the weapons store with Zoro and pretend like everything's normal. Since no one here can sense chakra, he shouldn't even notice that you're a clone."

"Roger that boss!" The clone playfully saluted to the original. "But I don't get what's the point in all of this?"

Naruto sighed deeply before responding. "Everyone told me earlier to give Nami some space to think after what happened earlier with the missing people. But it doesn't take a jounin to realise that she hasn't been acting herself all day long, I'm just going to check if she's alright that's all."

The clone pulled a teasing face towards the original before speaking in a bantering tone. "_Just going to check if she's alright" _He repeated mockingly. "Yeah right, are you sure that's all you're doing, boss?"

A deep shade of red developed on the young blond's face upon hearing him tease himself. Naruto punched the clone in the back of the head with enough damage to cause pain but not enough to dispel him.

"Of course I'm sure! We're just friends you idiot! Now get out of here because I'll make sure my next punch will be a lot harder, and you and I both know what would happen to you if I do."

A sweat trickled down the neck of the clone as he gulped nervously. Deciding not to have that fate, the second Naruto quickly bolted out of the alley way heading towards Zoro's location. The real Naruto shook his head while he wondered if there was a way he could somehow remove the cheekiness of all his clones.

Eventually letting the subject slide, he stood rigidly to start his search for the Straw Hat navigator.

A motionless minute has passed and Naruto flashed his newly formed sage eyes. _'Now, where could you have gotten to Miss Navigator?'_

_Mountain Ranges of Tesa. _

Nami walked everywhere and nowhere, her aimless travel had took her on a deserted walk path deep within one of the mountains that surrounded Tesa. She knew she needed some space from everyone but if she was being completely honest with herself, her reasons for leaving remained a mystery even to her. Although it was true that she felt bad for those poor women and children and she didn't want anyone to see her so fragile, truthfully all she really wanted was to get away from the one person who had caused her mind to be in such a disarray.

_'Naruto.'_

Feeling the gentle breeze swaying her long orange hair on the peaceful pathway, Nami had been wrestling her mind in an attempt to make some sense of her extremely erotic dream. To her, the whole thing was completely unexplainable and shocking. She vowed to herself that she would to take things slow and get to truly understand Naruto before even trying something with him but now she doesn't know what to think?

What should she do now? What does she really want with him? Was this dream a sign from her deepest desires to stop preventing herself from achieving happiness and just go for it? Was she so preoccupied about supressing the truth that she had managed to turn a blind eye on her true real feelings for the ex-shinobi? Even if she did somehow manage to get the two of them together, would she really be so enthusiastic to offer him her virginity so willingly like she did in the dream? Or was she merely overthinking this whole situation?

Frustration quickly settled in as all these unanswered questions jumbled her already disorganised mind. The girl unleashed a loud throaty groan releasing some built up stress and even mentally cursed Naruto for making her feel this way. She knew he didn't do anything wrong but she needed someone to blame.

Her irritation got the better of her when Nami kicked a small rock beneath her feet and watched it travel past some trees and disappear down a steep slope. She guessed that she was too distracted to notice the thirty feet drop just several meters next to her. Out of pure curiosity she opted to see where this slope headed and hope to find something that will put her mind at ease.

Pushing past several trees, Nami cocked an eyebrow at the sight below. It was a grassless plane scattered with old, dirty buckets, wheelbarrows, shovels and many other digging equipment and at the far end of the plane was what seemed like the dark entrance of a cave or a tunnel?

It didn't take long for Nami to realise that what she was seeing was in fact an old, abandoned mining facility. But reaching upon this new piece of knowledge had the Navigator asking several questions to herself.

'_Why would anyone build a mining site here? It's in the middle of nowhere and getting people to work here from the city everyday must have been hard? And why would they leave all their equipment behind? Oh well it's not like it's any of my business?' _

"Now that's something I didn't expect to find up here."

A new but an awfully familiar voice announced it self behind Nami causing her to heart miss a couple of beats and her skin to tingle. Knowing exactly who it was Nami froze like a statue, but the next thing she knew the man that she couldn't stop thinking about was standing right beside her and taking in the sight below.

"N-n-Naruto! W-wh-what a-are you doing here?" She stuttered nervously as all forms of emotions began rushing back.

The blond male turned and gave her a gentle smile. "I came to make sure you're okay of course?" He spoke with clear concern.

His smile almost took the air out of her lungs it was that genuine, but for some reason his act of kindness had forced Nami to remember it was that exact kindness that lead her to question all of her feelings, she recalled that he is the one responsible for making her mind such a mess with so many unanswered questions and she couldn't help but feel a little annoyed with the blond.

With newly harden eyes Nami turned around and made her way back to the pathway but with a confused Naruto close behind.

She turned once again to face him straight in the eyes. "And why wouldn't I be okay?" She replied sharply with her hands placed on her hips, she was a complete contrast to her earlier stuttering self.

Naruto winced and was taken aback by the sudden disdain that she openly expressed in her voice. Was she angry at him for some reason? And if she was, why? If there's one thing Naruto was sure that he'll never understand, it was women.

"Well…" Naruto started nervously. "I think well um, you've been-"he laughed anxiously as he rubbed the back of his neck. The blonde's uncertainty and stutter add more fuel to Nami's frustration.

"You've been acting a little weird today so I just wanted to um, check up on you that's all." Naruto said as he found the courage to look into the eyes of a pissed off women.

Nami instantly bit her lip and formed a questionable smile but inside it felt like someone had just threw match in her metaphorical fuel of frustration.

"And just what makes you think I need checking up on huh? You don't think I can take care of myself is that it!?"

"What are you talking about?! No it's not like that?!-"

"That's it isn't, I can't leave for five minutes without everyone worrying about me!" Nami spat back with deadly venom.

To be strictly honest, she wasn't angry about everyone thinking she's weak because she knew her nakamas wouldn't think that way about her, she wasn't even mad that Naruto was checking up on her, in fact if she wasn't so mentally disorganised and fuelled with bottled up anger she would have actually found his gesture sweet.

But everyone has a limit and Nami had just reached hers, she knew she had no legitimate reason to be angry at Naruto but once she opened the flood gates it was nearly impossible to stop.

"Nami please-"Naruto pleaded desperately "I don't understand why you're so upset? You know no one thinks you're weak and we all know you're more than capable to look after yourself. I only came up here because I was genuinely worried about you, but if what I did offended you then all I can say is that I'm sorry."

Nami took a minute to acknowledge his apologetic face and while she felt slightly guilty for putting him in this unnecessary situation, she also couldn't let go of the fact that he's the root of her distress.

"Well you should be, I'm not a little kid who needs a babysitter to watch my every move, Naruto."

Her words may have been insulting but deep down she knew it carried no truth. All her sudden aggression was all a way to get away from Naruto since he was the last person she wanted to see right now.

"Of course you don't and I'm sorry if I made you feel that way, just come back when you're ready okay? I'm sure everyone's missing you."

It was then Naruto reached out for the girl and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. But as soon as his hand made contact, it was quickly slapped away by Nami's. Naruto's eyes widened as the sound of the slap rang through his ears. He found himself lost for words while he stared at her face in disbelief that the innocent girl he thought he knew had shown a whole new side to her.

Said girl couldn't begin to explain why she slapped his hand away so violently. She didn't even think about it, it was just a reflex, a grave mistake that she regretted immediately. A heart wrenching sensation of guilt flooded her system whilst any words of an apology had jammed itself down her throat. The guilt was as clear as day on her face, her lips stuttered as she struggled to release a single word. However, the look of hurt and dismay displayed on Narutos face was enough to keep her mouth shut out of shame.

After a pall of unmeasurable tension and uncertain silence that lasted for what seemed to be an eternity, Naruto didn't know what to think nor what to do, he could tell from the horror on her face that she obviously didn't slap him out of spite and it was probably a mistake. But she did it nonetheless, so in the end he opted to give her the space she so desperately desired.

Turning to face the opposite direction, the blond kept walking without even attempting to talk to Nami. But as the busty women watches his retracting back and his black cloak swaying in the wind, her sense of guilt seemed to multiply with every step he took away from her.

_'He hates me now I just know it, God I'm such a stupid idiot! How can I let something this happen?' _

_Evening, Somewhere Within Tesa Island. _

Rushing. Rushing was the best way to describe the man named Takashi. Dark blue haired and charcoal black eyed Takashi was rushing his way down the corridor to his captain's office to tell him some very important news.

Entering upon his captains office, Takashi promptly knelt down to his bald, over 6 foot captain whom had a body any body builder would be proud of. The giant of a man had his sights out the window that overlooked a garden that looked more like another mining facility which had a spectacular view of the full moon.

Takashi lifted his head to speak to his captain. "Good evening Jagger-sama, I'm sorry for interrupting your night but there's something we urgently need to discuss."

Juggernaut Jagger, one of the four members of The Chosen Ones kept his gaze on the moon. "What seems to be the situation first mate?"

"There's been rumours that's been spreading amongst the crew today, if true can be a potential threat that could compromise our search in this island." Takashi nervously announced.

"Stop wasting my time Takashi and say whatever it is you have to say." Jagger said with a cold shoulder.

The dark blue haired man bowed his head once again. "My apologies Jagger-sama. From what our crew had been saying is that the Straw Hat Pirates are here on Tesa."

"The Straw Hats? You mean those insignificant little worms who dare call themselves pirates? Why should I care if they're on the island?" Jagger retorted condescendingly.

"The Straw Hats, especially their captain have a reputation of causing a lot of trouble wherever they go, and lets not forget to mention they were a crucial part in the downfall of Doflamingo's reign on Dressrosa. But more importantly, earlier today we received word that they may have been meddling around in our business, scouting around the city, asking people about the missing men and even one of our own crew members had sworn that he saw two of them by the old search site."

"Mmm-" Jagger hummed as he pinched his chin. Takashi lifted his head once again in awaits of his orders on how to eliminate the Straw Hat threat.

"Speaking of search site, how is our search in finding _it_?" Jagger questioned completely ignoring Takashi's warning.

The first mate for one was a little stumped by the new direction his captain had took the conversation, but he knew exactly how unforgiving his captain Jagger is and there way Takashi would even dream of questioning the bald man's intentions.

"Ah, we um, are yet to find it Jagger-sama. Even with the workforce we acquired last month, its location remain unknown. We may have to call it a lost and move onto the next island."

Taking a moment to absorb the report, Jagger shook his head in disappointment. "One year, for one whole year we've been looking for this thing that will supposedly change the world in our favour but yet we still come up empty handed. It is essential that we find it soon Takashi, Azazel is growing more restless by the day."

"I assure you we are doing everything possible to complete our search Jagger-sama, we will find it but in the meantime please remain patient." Takashi said reassuringly. However as his captain stared out the window with no hint of replying, the first mate continued.

"If I may, we have still yet to discuss about the Straw Hats? We aren't fully certain that they're planning to get involved with our affairs but they're movements today were indeed suspicious nonetheless." Takashi quizzed anxiously. "What should we do about them?"

"Oh yes, I almost forgot about them." Jagger said cockily. "As you know I'm not a man who likes taking unnecessary chances. Takashi!"

"Hai?"

A sinister smirk developed on Jagger's face. "Find Angel, tell her to pay our new guest a little visit."

_1 hour later, Back on the Thousand Sunny_

[Knock Knock Knock]

"Zoro-san, may I come in? There's a matter that I would like to discuss with you." Robin whispered on Zoro's bedroom door.

This was it, with all the recent events Robin had found it difficult to find the appropriate time to get the things off her chest.

"Robin? Sure just let yourself in."

With the permission, Robin calmly allowed herself in Zoro's room. But her tracks came to a quick stop as she noticed the man sitting on the edge of his bed while cleaning his katanas.

"Oh I apologies, I didn't know you were occupied, I'll just come back again later."

"No it's fine I just finished." Said Zoro stopping Robin's retreat in the process. "What is it that you wanted to discuss with me?"

The archaeologist took several steps towards the bed and analysed the tiny details of Zoro's room. The plain bed with pillows, a desk, one chair and a book case stacked with books she was sure was only there out of the courtesy of Franky. But the room's furniture, or the lack there of had never surprised Robin no matter how many times she been there for one of their secret meetings. Zoro is a simple man who only loved and needed three things in life, his nakamas, katanas and alcohol. But was she one of those things that he couldn't live without? Unknown to Zoro, her sudden visit was to find the answer to that exact question.

Taking a seat next to the green haired man as he sheathed the white blade of Wado Ichimonji, waves of nervousness and uncertainty quickly surfaced. She thought she had strengthen her resolve to talk to him about their little situation but now she wasn't so sure that it was the right idea.

Zoro's quick wit and keen observation had him questioning Robin's sudden silence and conflicted expression. "Hey what's up with you? You said you wanted to talk so let's talk?"

She interlocked her fingers while circling her thumbs like a nervous little school girl. "Wh-what are we Zoro-san?"

_Meanwhile, Kitchen/Dining Room_

It's been several hours since Naruto left Nami up in the mountain ranges. He felt a little guilty for leaving her all by herself however, she made it crystal clear that she didn't wanted company, especially his. To say he wasn't affected by her earlier behaviour would have been the lie of the century, in truth he was still is disbelief that she did what she did. It wasn't merely the slap but the unexplainable anger she displayed towards him.

As the young blond slowly played with his food completely isolating myself in his own little bubble and disregarded the multiple conversations and laughter brewing around him, Naruto relentlessly searched every one of his memories in an attempt to discover the reason for Nami's quick change of personality. But much to his displeasure, nothing resurfaced that could explain her hate for him.

Naruto was so lost in his thoughts that he didn't even notice the sudden figure that had entered in the room that stopped all forms of communication.

"Hi guys, sorry I left all of a sudden earlier." Nami surprised everyone with a nervous voice.

"Nami!" Yelled an over excited group of pirates except the now frozen Naruto.

"We're glad to see you're back!" Chopper smiled warmly.

"We missed you the whole day!" Luffy kindly announced.

"It's true but I missed you the most Nami-Swan!" Sprung around from the kitchen.

Although she loved how welcoming and understanding her friends were on her return, she couldn't help but feel a ache in her chest from seeing how Naruto wasn't as overjoyed as the rest. He kept his head low on his plate frozen like a statue with eyes as round as the plate itself.

Not wanting to overwhelm the navigator or talk about her sudden disappearance and create an awkward atmosphere, the Straw Hats continued their previous conversation allowing Nami to take a seat around the table. However, as the orange haired women made her way to the table she was faced with an immediate dilemma. Since Robin and Zoro were nowhere to be found, there were multiple available seats that she could take, one of those included next to Naruto. So she had a choice, sit away from the blond and endure a very painful dinner or face her problem head on and fix the situation?

In the end, she decided with the latter, letting the awkwardness mature with time will only harm her more right?

The frozen Naruto anxiously gulped as Nami did the unexpected and sat down right next to him. Unknown to the rest, but the atmosphere around the two was thick enough to cut with a hot knife. Nami stared down on to her lap while her fingers nervously played with one another.

"H-hi Naruto." Nami silently whispered to ensure no one else could overhear.

"Hey." He returned a whisper with an emotionless monotone voice.

The busty girl flinched by his expressionless tone, she had known him for nearly a month now but have never seen him like this before. Compared to his old friendly, loving self to see him like this actually hurt.

"I-um, I want to say that I'm sorry for what happened earlier and-"

Narutos eyes widened. "Nami you don't need to do this." He interrupted the girl, all he really wanted was an apology to move on and forget the whole ordeal. Since his academy days Naruto had always hated conflict between him and his closest friends, but if he was completely honest all he desired was to be able to talk to one of his precious friends normally again.

"No Naruto, I do. I was a total bitch to you earlier and what's worse I did so with no good reason at all. You were just being a good friend by checking up on me and I threw it all in your face, please understand that I didn't mean anything I said earlier and I sure didn't wanted to hit you, I don't even know why I did it I think it was just a reflex. Please forgive me, I wasn't really mad at you I just um, I just, had a weird dream last night that had me confused the whole day and I took it all out on you. I hope you can forgive me so we can move on from this."

Naruto for one was completely speechless by Nami's lengthy heart-warming speech of forgiveness, but overall he was just relieved that she was no longer angry and that she wanted what he wanted, to move on and forget.

But that small smile on his face was awfully short lived as his shinobi senses and intuition interrupted his reply, Nami took her eyes off her hands to raise an eyebrow at Narutos hand that was reaching for his katana.

"You can come out now! I know you're out there!" Naruto yelled out of nowhere consequently halting all background conversations. Luffy, Usopp, Sanji, Chopper, Franky and Brook all froze in their seats as they wondered what on earth Naruto was going on about.

Nami gave a questioning stare at the blond. "Hey were you even listening to me? And who were you talking to just now?" She asked rather annoyed.

"Oh alright fine I'll come out, but I must say pretty boy I am impressed that you managed to figure out I was out there." Cooed the busty, beautiful green eyed blond who pushed pass the door and entered the Thousand Sunny kitchen. She wore a tight white shirt that revealed too much cleavage accompanied with a very small skirt that displayed much of her long creamy legs. Her face, hey body, her hair and even the tiny beauty spot on the bottom right side of her mouth was stunning.

Usopp and Chopper screamed in terror by the sexy intruder, breaking glasses and plates in the process while the pair and the rest of the crew instinctively leaped to opposing end of the table readying themselves for combat.

"Oh come on guys and gal relax, I'm came here for a little chat so let's all try to get along and besides I don't bite, unless you ask me of course." The women said seductively and gave Sanji a playful wink.

Sanji being Sanji immediately grew love hearts for eyes and exploded with energy for meeting such a sexy lady. But Nami was less impressed by the busty intruder, number one she snuck on board their ship without an invitation meaning she's an obvious threat. But most importantly she became overly defensive at the fact she called Naruto 'pretty boy.'

"Sanji-kun." Nami deep serious, ice cold voice stopped the cook's overzealous confession to the girl.

"S-sorry Nami-swan."

Luffy took a step forward to face the intruder. "My name is Monkey D. Luffy, I'm going to be the king of the pirates! Who are you?" The captain voiced confidently.

The women tilted her head and hummed. "Ohh I know who you are but you are much cuter than I expected." The blond gracefully took a seat on the end of the table and crossed her arms and legs.

Luffy narrowed his eyes completely unaffected by the lady's complement. She was a potential threat that could hurt his friends so he had no time to fool around.

"My name is Angel and I-"

"What the hell is going on here!" Zoro roared as he and Robin busted through the second entrance into the kitchen. The pair stopped to assess the situation but seeing the stranger at the end of the room and their friends threatened faces, the two instantly rushed to their crew mate's side of the room.

"Nami, who is she?" Robin worryingly questioned her best friend.

"We don't know she just came out of nowhere?" The navigator replied.

Angel gazed upon the one eyed swordsman. "Oh my, another cutie, it's making me want to leave my crew and join you guys. What do think captain, got room for one more?" The blond playfully teased causing Robin to clench her fists.

However, Usopp, Chopper, Franky and Brook failed to identify her sarcastic tone. "NO LUFFY, DON'T ASK HER TO JOIN!"

"Relax guys, I'm not going to do anything like that. But hey you, I didn't catch your name."

"My name is Angel." The flirty women said nonchalantly with a cheeky smile.

To say her flirty, teasing personality annoyed Nami and Robin would have been a colossal understatement.

"What are you doing here, Angel-san?" The raven haired aerologist asked with her calm, poised self.

"Like I told these guys earlier, I only came here for a little chat."

_5 Minutes earlier. _

Zoro for one couldn't pick up on her hidden question. "What are we? Isn't obvious? We're nakamas of course?" He reply like she had just gone crazy.

Robin shook her head slightly. "No that isn't what I meant, I mean what are _we,_ me and you?"

It took several moments for Zoro to realise exactly what she was questioning, but when he did his eye popped with surprised. "W-wh-what are we? M-me and you?" The man failed to supressed a visible gulp to hide his nervousness. It was obvious where this conversation was heading and to be fair, he wasn't so sure he was ready for it.

"Yes Zoro-san-" The older women stared at her fidgeting hands. "Don't you ever wonder why we do what we do? I mean, since this thing between you and I started after we left Water 7, have you never questioned what _this_ is?"

Zoro choked on his words as he was trying to say something, anything. "I-ah-um, never really thought about it before." Despite his nervous stutter, his answer was the absolute truth.

Robin's hands stopped their play. "I see." She said solemnly.

A pall of intense silence developed for a moment.

"Have you thought about it?" Zoro asked to break the awkward silence.

A small tingle ran down Robin's spine as she was so sure that this conversation was over. "I, I don't know? I mean I guess so? After all these years with everything we've done and been through, you can't blame a girl for thinking can you?" She formed a small curl on the edge of her mouth.

A speechless Zoro met the eyes of a smiling Robin. He knew this conversation was one day evitable but the short answer was that he wasn't expecting it to be now or any time soon. Therefore he never had the need to think about their secret sexual relationship or what she really meant to him.

So as he stared into those dark beautiful eyes, he scrambled his mind for any form of a reply.

"What, what is it that you think about?" He mentally sighed in relief.

Robin raised a playful eyebrow and grew a fuller smile. "You know, all this stuttering you're doing won't be good for your overly manly image." She joked with a giggle.

An instant shade of red rushed to Zoro's cheek before he shouted. "Sh-shut up and answer the question you troublesome women!"

Enjoying another round of giggles, the atmosphere was quick to continue where it left off. Robin restarted to play with her fingers.

"What do I think about us? That's a question with many answers that are just as true as the next. But if I'm completely honest, I truly don't know what to think about us, perhaps that's because this is the first time we've ever spoken about it before but that could just be an excuse I made for myself." Robin sighed and took a minute before she continued. "For years I thought I knew and was content with the way our current relationship was, just drunken, unattached, emotionless sex right?"

Zoro nodded his head in agreement but found it a little awkward now that someone had finally labelled their relationship.

Robin took the man's silence to carry on. "But recently I believe to have developed certain um… How can I put this?… feelings towards you."

The swordsman's eye rounded at the women's sudden comment.

"But before you suffer a heart attack let me say that I have yet to determine what these feelings are Zoro, I don't know if I like you or if want to be with you but it's just every time I look or think about you, there's this feeling I get that I can't explain."

Zoro gulped once again as he was completely astonished.

"I apologies for my vagueness but if you consider how I grew up, it's not much of a surprise that these type of feelings would be foreign for me. But anyway, I just thought that you should know."

Zoro choked on another set of words he struggled to release. _'Something! Say something damn it!" _He scolded himself.

"So my question for you Zoro-san is, how do you feel about me?"

Her dazzling eyes pushed the man's cognitive limit to the max. He was already struggling to say something about her not-so-confession but now he was tasked with answering an actual question? Absolute absent mindedness, no thoughts or idea in how to answer.

"I, I-"

Screams. Broken glasses.

Zoro mentally sighed in relief as he was saved by the commotion originating from what seemed like the kitchen.

"What was that?" Robin's head darted towards to the door.

Zoro equipped himself with his katanas and took Robin's hand. "I don't know but it doesn't sound good, let's go check it out."

_Present Time. _

"Like I told these guys earlier, I only came here for a little chat."

"Ow! And what is it that you wanted to chat about?" Questioned the brief wearing cyborg.

"Well as you can probably guess I didn't really wanted to come here on my own accord, I was actually order by my captain to give you guys a little message." Replied the ever smiling blond.

"And who is this captain of yours who doesn't know the meaning of manners?" Naruto spoke up.

"Oh hey pretty boy, wow I can't believe I took my eyes off you, you are one fine hottie." Angel teased once again.

_'This little slut!' _Nami furiously thought to herself.

Naruto resisted the urge to roll his eyes. "Don't play around with me lady. That would be a grave mistake on your part." He snapped back coldly.

"Ohhh so scary, how I love tough manly guys like you. Although I doubt you would ever speak to me that way again if I told Jagger-sama how mean you've been to me." Angel spiritedly used her hands to shield her face to display her sarcastic fear.

Learning the name of the blond intruder's captain had immobilised the two female members of the Straw Hat pirates. "Y-your captain's name is Jagger?" Nami asked weakly.

"Yup." Angel smirked victoriously.

"So you are telling us that the man that sent you here tonight is _the_ Juggernaut Jagger?" Robin questioned while masking the hint of anxiety in her voice.

A confirming hum was what the Straw Hat ladies had received from the women sitting on the other end of the table.

"What's wrong Robin-san, Nami-san? Why do you guys look like that?" Brook quizzed the frozen women.

"What's wrong?! Don't you idiots ever read the newspaper?!" The ships navigator screamed in fury but only to receive small shrugs from her male crew mates.

"Why did I even bother asking?" Nami rolled her eyes before continuing. "If this women is telling the truth then we may be in big trouble."

Pairs of eyes narrowed as the males tried to interpret Nami's warning.

"What I think Nami is trying to say is that Angel-san's captain is a very dangerous man." Robin supported her friend.

Nami scoffed loudly. "Dangerous would be one hell of an understatement."

A shared shiver ran amongst the Straw Hats backs. "Y-you can't be serious? H-how powerful is this guy?" Usopp stammered out of pure terror.

Robin stared into the eyes of the smiling women across the room. "Very. His name is famous in the New World for arguably being in the top tier of the strongest pirates in the world. So powerful in fact that after Whitebeard was killed in Marineford, I heard that Jagger was even considered to take his place in becoming one of the Four Emperors. But that's not all, although I don't know the specifics, but from what certain rumours have been spreading is that Jagger has a crew of over one thousand."

"One thousand!" Chopper, Brook and Usopp screamed from the top of their lungs.

"And Luffy, one thing I am certain about Jagger is his bounty. And there's no easy way to say it but, it exceeds yours by 200 hundred million."

A moment of pure astonishment lingered in the air as the male Straw Hats absorbed the information and accepted the gravity of the situation. However as every eyes settled on the rubber captain, a misplaced smile took shape on his face.

Luffy punch the pad his free hand. "200 million huh? Sounds like fun, let's go find this Jagger guy and kick his ass!"

His crew dropped their heads in disappointment.

"Baka! Did you not listen to anything Robin just said! Her captain is dangerous, why would you even want to fight a man like that?!" Nami scolded her captain.

"I don't know?" Was the simple answer Nami received that made her want to slap her fore head.

"Now as much as I admire your fighting spirit, no one here is going to be fighting Jagger-sama tonight." Angel announced with authority. "As I would like to remind you guys I didn't come here for a fight, I was order to find you and relay a simple message."

Chopper and Usopp both sighed in relief in knowing that their safety was ensured.

"And that message would be?" Sanji asked politely.

Angel lost her smile and shifted to one of deadly seriousness. "To stay out of our business and leave this island immediately or else we will be forced to eliminate you."

Frowns grew on the faces of the Mugiwara pirates before Zoro spoke up for the group. "Stay out of your business? I don't remember any of us sticking our noses into your business, right guys?"

"Yeah, I know none of us is stupid enough to get into trouble here after everything we learnt about the missing people… unless." Nami concurred but then shifted her sights to her captain.

"Luffy! What did you do now?!"

"Huh?! What did I do?! I didn't do anything Nami I swear!" Luffy shot back in defence.

The navigator squinted her eyes to display her doubtfulness.

But it was then Usopp stepped in to support his best friend. "Woaw woaw calm down Nami, me and Chopper was with Luffy all day and we didn't do anything that got us into trouble!"

Satisfied with Usopp's answer, Zoro crossed his arms and smirked. "You heard them, we are not in your business, so if your captain thinks for one second he can force us to leave this island with false accusations and a little warning, he's got another thing coming."

Angel shrugged her shoulders then got up from her seat to take her leave. "Your funeral, but if I were in your shoes I wouldn't take my chances and leave right now, there's no way in hell would I want to get in the wrong side of Jagger-sama. But whatever, my job here is done so I guess it's my time to leave. Such a shame though, I don't want to say goodbye to all you cuties." She finished with a lick on the lips for all the males in the room before turning around to head for the door.

"Wait a minute!" Zoro called her out while taking a several steps to chase the blond. "If you really think you can just come in here and threaten us without a paying the consequences then you must be delusional!" However, Zoro's advance was put to an instant halt as in a blink of an eye the women that stood in front of him had somehow transformed to someone he knew all too well.

"Those clothes, that sword, no, but how? How can you be here!?" The green haired swordsman questioned in a panic.

"Delusional you say? But I think you're the one who's most delusional for believing you could ever surpass me, Roronoa Zoro." Said the new figure as he turned around to show his face to the Straw Hat crew.

Everyone with the exception of Naruto had their minds blew away by the realisation of the new individual that took Angels place.

"Dracule Mihawk!" They screeched in unison.

"But how did he- where is- what the hell is going on!" Usopp shrieked in bewilderment.

"Mihawk, is that really you? What happened to the girl?!" Zoro asked sceptically to his former sensei as he took a couple of unconscious steps away.

"What's the matter, Roronoa Zoro? Is that anyway to speak to the man who trained you for two years? At least come here and give me the curtsey of a handshake?" Mihawk purposely taunted his former student and followed him step by step.

"No, there's no way your Dracule Mihawk, Angel what did you do!?" Zoro spat with aggression.

"I see your keen observation skills has not failed you, but it's already far too late." Said the fake Mihawk before his yellow eyes glowed like the first glimpse of the morning sunrise.

One look into his eyes and Zoro experienced an excruciating tightness in his chest before everything went dark and he suddenly collapsed unconscious on to the kitchen floor. Robin's heart froze for a single second as she gazed upon the unmoving body of Zoro and she couldn't help but fear for the worse.

"Zoro!" Shouted his crew mates in a panic and wondered how one of their strongest fighters was defeated by a stare. The Straw Hats quickly surrounded their fallen comrade with Chopper and Robin being the first to arrive.

The next second the room was filled with a sinister giggle coming from the other end of the room.

"That was so much fun!" Angel who supernaturally return to her former self shrieked in pleasure. "But it's such a shame I had to do that to such a fine looking man." She ended with a deep sigh.

Robin who knelt down to aid Chopper's treatment switched her attention from the unconscious Zoro to the sadistic Angel.

"Just what did you do to him?!" She retaliated with more aggression that she thought she could ever have.

"Oh relax, he's not dead. He's merely experiencing his worst nightmare." Angel retorted with a single flick of her golden long hair.

"What the hell is going on here?! Who was that guy and what exactly did you do to Zoro!" Naruto yelled violently to the female blond.

"Whoever you saw was the root of that person's worst nightmare. I am the consumer of the Mare Mare fruit and it allows me to take advantage of anyone's memories, feelings, emotions and most importantly fears. And use them to temporarily take shape of the person who will lead them into an unescapable nightmare that's sole purpose is to cause the maximum amount of physical and psychological pain."

Naruto gritted his teeth and reach for the katana on his back while Luffy readjusted his hat and faced the women with so much hidden rage that he was ready to tear the room apart if that's what it took to defeat this sadistic women.

"Wake him up now! I don't care what happens to me but I swear if you don't wake him up this moment I will snap your neck so fast you wouldn't even know what hit you." Robin threated with overwhelming terror, even Nami was a little frightened as she had never seen this much hostility from her usually polite roommate, and it was all for Zoro's sake?

"Ah Ah Ah-" Angel countered whilst shaking a her index finger. "I wouldn't do that if I were you, unless of course you want to end up the same as your friend over there, and from the looks of things he isn't looking so good."

Everyone froze for a single second to spare a glance at the fallen Zoro with Chopper doing everything he can to wake the swordsman up but was miserably failing.

"So if you guys don't mind I'll be taking my leave, you cuties take care now." Angel waved with a little smile on her face.

"Zoro was right, you are delusional." Luffy addressed the girl to stop her retreat.

"What did you say?" The bust blond questioned in an icy cold tone.

"You heard him, he said you're delusional, did you really think we were going to let you walk away now after what you did to Zoro?" Naruto spat in disdain.

Taking notice that most of the men of the pirate crew had shifted into their fighting stances, Angel formed a menacing smirk. "I guess I won't be leaving here in peace after all. And such a shame, I was willing to let you guys off simply because I couldn't stand to see another handsome man perish, but oh well." The blond flicked her hair once again.

"So, who wants to experience their worst nightmare next?"

**AN**/

Finally, some history had been shown between Zoro and Robin, some reviews said they would like to hear Zoro's side of the relationship so this chapter was to introduce that. Also some tension between Naruto and Nami, I wrote the argument for a littlle development as we all know relationships are not as perfect as we would like them to be. But what will happened between them two of them now? Will there be more hard times ahead or will everything be forgiven?

I would like to thank skg1991 for his work. Secondly, Oh how I love Angels character and personality, she pretty much wrote herself it was that much fun to write. And finally, I would really like to see some reviews on this chapter because the last one didnt get very many so if you could spare a minute of your time it would be really appreciated.


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